Fate and Destiny Lend A Hand
by Destiny and Fate 4ever
Summary: Allies from another dimension arrive to help combat the evil Metallia. Will they also act as catalysts for the blooming relationships between certain couples? Book three of the Universal Warriors. Crossover with the Ronin Warriors. Complete!
1. Prologue

**_Important author's notes!_**

Ok, so this is probably the single longest author's notes that I will write for something like this. And yes, there is a reason for that.

First off, this is the third book of the Universal Warriors epic, which is a series of seven progressively longer books.  If you have not read the first two books, you probably will not understand what is going on, so I advise you click on our author link to go read the first two books.

Next order of business:

This Book and the remaining four books of the Universal Warriors contain original characters which FateChica and I have created. They have some similarities to us, the authors, which may be intentional sometimes or not. These characters belong entirely to us – you must ask to use any of them or any of our stories. If you do not like original characters, you may want to hit the back button on the screen right now, because they will play a rather large roll in the remaining storyline. However, we hope that you will find them funny, as we do, and enjoy the story. This book will definitely be high on the comic relief side of things. These characters are not Mary Sues.  They are imperfect just like normal people and they will not be involved relationship-wise with any of the existing characters.

Questions? Concerns? Comments? All of these are welcome. Review to your little heart's contentment!

And on that note – We do not own Sailor Moon or Ronin Warriors. We do own the plot, these stories, and the new original characters. Please ask before reproducing any and all parts of this story.

brackets indicate thoughts from a character

Book Three: Fate and Destiny Lend a Hand

Prologue

-Same Day, September 24th, 1999-

"Here you guys, hold my stuff. I have to go to the bathroom."

"Kateri, hurry up. My mom's waiting out in the parking lot for us. If we don't hurry, she's going to get mad at us!" a tall girl with long auburn hair addressed one of her two shorter friends, who had amber colored eyes with long brown hair, as she passed on her things to her friends.

"Margot, just hold my stuff as I go to the bathroom. I'll only be a minute," Kateri said as she handed her overnight bag to Margot and her backpack to her other reluctant friend, a girl with short auburn hair and green eyes. Satisfied that her stuff would be well taken care of, she rushed off into the bathroom. 

Margot sighed in annoyance and looked down at the girl with short auburn hair. "Julie, do you have all your stuff?" Julie looked up at Margot, who was about 6 inches taller than she, and said, "Yep, sure do. I have the "Ronin Warriors" and "Sailor Moon" tapes, the "Universal Warriors" story, printed out and on disk, and I have all my clothes."

"Good, I really don't want to have to go get your stuff. My mom's probably sitting out in the parking lot, just waiting for us," Margot said as she looked around the locker hall. The three girls, who all went to the same school, were going over to Margot's house for the weekend to catch up on their favorite anime shows, "The Ronin Warriors" and "Sailor Moon". Julie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down at her clothes disgustedly. "I wish she would hurry up out of the bathroom. I can't wait to get to your house so I can change out of my uniform."

"Ditto," Margot said, looking down at her white button down shirt, plaid, pleated skirt, white knee socks, and black heeled shoes. She looked over at Julie, her clothes identical to her own, and said, "Why don't you go change in the bathroom?"

"Are you kidding?" Julie asked in disbelief, "I'm not changing in the bathroom here. It's disgusting. I'd rather wear my uniform for another hour and wait until we get to your house." Margot sighed. Sometimes, she wondered about Julie. "Alright, it's your decision. But, you have a point, the bathrooms here are disgusting." Julie nodded and said, "Why did we have to wear the skirts today? I'd have much rather worn my khakis."

"We had that mass today, remember Chica?" Margot said, using her nickname for Julie

"Oh yeah, I wondered about that. It was a formal dress day, wasn't it?"

"It sure was," Margot said. The school the three went to was an all-girls, Catholic high school and every once in a while, the entire school attended a mass where the formal uniform was required. Though everyone dressed up, no one liked going to mass. 

Margot checked the time on the watch she wore around her neck as Julie shifted Kateri's backpack to the other arm. "What does she carry in here, bricks?" Julie dropped the backpack on the floor and regarded it with disdain. "I don't remember sophomore year having quite so many books," Julie said. She and Margot were both juniors and Kateri was a sophomore, though sometimes one couldn't tell with the amount of work Kateri did. She did as much as a high school junior at times.

"Well, Chica, we have about that many books as juniors now."

"Good point, Babe," Julie said, calling Margot by the nickname that she had given her. With a smile curving up her lips and laughter twinkling in her eyes, Julie said, "Hey Margot, do you have all your stuff?" mocking Margot from what she said earlier.

"Yes, I do. I have," Margot started, ticking off her fingers, "my Manga, the binders full of SM stories that you gave me, and the scrapbook that you made for me full of SM and "Ronin Warriors" pictures. And I have my school stuff. Can't very well forget about that."

"Nope, sure can't." Julie and Margot both wished that they could. The two waited a little more and Julie, who had lost her patience, not that she had any to begin with, said, "Alright, if she's not out of the bathroom in 30 seconds, I'm going in after her."

"Good idea…" Margot said, but trailed off when a bright light surrounded her and Julie.

"Um, Julie, what's going on?" Margot asked.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." The two of them watched wordlessly as the light got brighter and brighter until it got so bright that they had to close their eyes. 

When they noticed that the light had faded, they opened their eyes to find themselves in the middle of a park. Their eyes opened wide and they couldn't help but stare in wonder. "Um, how did we get here?" Julie asked.

"If I knew, I'd tell you," Margot breathed. Looking over at Julie, she said, "What has the cafeteria been putting in the food?"

"Some really crazy shit," Julie responded. Margot giggled a little at Julie's remark. She was always one to make things direct and to the point. Margot turned her gaze back to the park in front of them, noticing that the lake in front of them looked slightly familiar. When it dawned on her how it looked so familiar, she quickly shook her head in dismissal. No, that can't be it, Margot thought. 

Disbelief still written all over her face, she turned back to Julie and pinched her hard. "Ow, what was that for?" Julie asked, a little annoyed at her best friend.

"Nope, this isn't a nightmare," Margot said, a smile playing on her lips.

"Damn straight," Julie said. Margot was about to comment on the lake in front of them when the two of them heard the sounds of fighting and explosions. Looking at each other in confusion, they began wordlessly moving towards the sound, still laden with all the stuff they had been holding earlier. They walked for about 5 minutes in companionable silence, needing no words. The two of them could have done without words if necessary, they were that close. 

They climbed a hill, the only sound now the sound of Margot's backpack, which looked like a little suitcase since one could roll it and pull it along by a handle. As they reached the top of the hill, their eyes fell upon the scene in front of them and they dropped their stuff in shock. They couldn't believe what they were seeing in front of them. It just wasn't possible to them. What they were seeing were the Universal Warriors, obviously right after a battle. Both of them recognized the scene and identified it as the ending to Book Two of their series, "The Universal Warriors". Not believing what they were seeing in front of them, in perfect synchrony, like their minds were one, they said out loud, "Oh my God." The moment they said that, the Mystical and Ronin Warriors all turned to look at the two girls and then things started to get interesting…

TO BE CONTINUED

****

This chapter is for CTRNikkiM, because these are her favorite characters.  Hope this made your day Nikki. : ) DestinyBabe


	2. First Contact

Part 1: First Contact

-Same Day, September 24th, 1999-

"Oh my god!"  The Mystical and Ronin Warriors all turned their heads to see Julie and Margot standing there with disbelieving looks on their faces.  The Ronin and Mystical Warriors gave each other looks that said, "Who are these two?"  Serena, who needed to know what was wrong, stepped forward and, tiredly sighing, said, "Excuse me, is something wrong?"  Serena watched worriedly as the two girls just stared at her.  Serena cleared her throat and said, "Um, are you ok?"  Margot and Julie were only held in their state of shock for a couple moments more before they sprang to life, both of them talking a mile a minute.  The group of tired warriors strained their ears to catch what they were saying.  

"I can't believe it.  This isn't happening to us!" Margot said.

"I know, I can't believe it either, but let's enjoy it while we can.  I mean, they're real.  Actually real.  How many opportunities are we going to get to see it like this in the future?  None," Julie said, a huge smile on her face.  It looked to her like her creation was actually real.  Margot smiled down at Julie and held her hand up, expecting a high five from Julie.  She wasn't disappointed as Julie's hand slapped against hers and she said, "This is so cool, Julie.  I don't care if it's a dream; it's still really cool."

"Tell me about it."

"Um, what are you two talking about?" Serena asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.  Julie and Margot, who were still a little dazed, turned to the group of warriors.  Pointing at Serena, Margot said, "You're Serena, I'd know that voice anywhere."

"How did you know that?" Serena whispered, totally shocked, but it went unheard by the two girls.  Julie smiled and said, "And that's the Moonlight armor, leader of the Mystical armors, the ones I came up with, with the staff that has the Silver Crystal and all."  

Before Julie could say another word, she and Margot were staring at an assortment of weapons.  Julie gulped and Margot laughed nervously.  "Heh, heh, whoa, calm down," Margot said, looking at the gleaming point of Heather's glaive.  Along with Heather's glaive, Margot and Julie faced Lita's sword, Mina's bow and arrow, Serena's staff, and Darien and Mia's swords and behind them, Raye and Ami were ready to use their attacks.

"You're from the Negaverse, aren't you?  Otherwise, how would you know about the Silver Crystal?" Lita said.  Julie eyed Lita's sword nervously and said, "We're not from the Negaverse and we don't work for Metallia, I swear."

"Oh yeah?" Mina asked, pulling her bowstring tauter, "Then, if you don't work for Metallia, then how did you know her name?  We didn't mention it."  Margot and Julie looked at each other, wondering how they were going to pull themselves out of the mess they landed in when Celia said from behind, "You guys, put down your weapons.  They're not from the Negaverse and they won't hurt you.  They're harmless."  The Mystical Warriors lowered their weapons and turned around to see Celia, who was attending Michelle.  "Thank you, Celia," Margot said, "Or, is your name Setsuna here?"

"My name is Celia.  Setsuna is my Japanese name."

"Ooh, I get it," Margot said.  Julie, who had also turned to look at Celia, saw Alex, Michelle and the Ronin Warriors sitting underneath the tree.  Her eyes went wide with excitement and she said, "They're real too?  This is my lucky day.  Oh yeah!"  

Margot smiled at Julie as the shorter girl did a little happy dance; she knew that "The Ronin Warriors" was Julie's all-time favorite show, just as "Sailor Moon" was hers.  But, it seemed that they landed in the middle of the story that she, Julie, and Kateri all wrote the summer before.  Celia walked away from Michelle and said, "I think you two have had enough for the moment.  I think it's time to go home."

"Home?" Margot and Julie asked.  They knew Celia's house inside and out, or at least, the house from their story.  It would be interesting to see if it were still the same in this reality.  "Yes, home," Celia repeated before turning back to Alex and Michelle and helping them get up.  The Ronin Warriors had already gotten up after not being hurt too badly and detransformed into their school uniforms.  

They walked over to the rest of the group, who had already detransformed into their regular clothes, and looked the new girls over to check for anything suspicious about them.  "You two wear school uniforms as well?" Sage asked the two.

"Yeah, we do," Margot said.

"We go to Catholic school," Julie said.  Margot and Julie turned to each other and, smiling, said at the same time, "An all-girls, boarding, Catholic college-preparatory school," before dissolving into giggles.  They had way too much excitement that didn't have anywhere to go except into little things like giggles.  Everyone looked at each other; they seemed to be ok, if not a little weird.  But, if they were normal, then how did they know about the Mystical armors and the Silver Crystal?  Until the group got those answers, they would be suspicious of the girls for a while.  

Celia, who had detransformed a few moments earlier, finally got Alex and Michelle on their feet, making sure they could walk, before joining the rest of the group.  Alex and Michelle also detransformed before walking over to the others.  "Are we ready to go?" Serena asked the group.  They all nodded and began to walk away, leaving Celia, Julie and Margot behind.  Celia turned to them and said, "Don't worry, once things are explained, they'll be more friendly."

"Do you know where we come from?" Margot asked.

"Of course I do.  I was the one who brought you here from your world," Celia said.

"Why?" Julie asked.  Celia smiled at them.

"That is for me to know and you to find out," Celia said as she rushed to catch up to the group.  Julie and Margot only gave each other looks of resignation, though their eyes were still sparkling with happiness, as they too rushed to catch up with the group as they all walked home.

*****

Hey all, I know that was short, but I did put up another chapter as well, plus I had to alter the prologue a bit.  Hope you enjoyed!  Also, thanks to OriontheHunter for the nice review.  We're sorry there was such a lapse in time between this being taken off the webpage and now my updating it here, but as you can see, we're updating quickly so you all can read it again! ~ DestinyBabe


	3. Explanations Abound

Part 2: Explanations Abound

-September 24th, 1999-

Serena sighed as the group of Mystical and Ronin Warriors neared home, with two guests.  Behind the group of warriors, Julie and Margot were talking animatedly about people and places they didn't know and had no desire to know about.  All the Universal Warriors wanted to know was who they were, why they were there, and how they knew about the armors and the Silver Crystal.  It made no sense to them, except to Celia, but she knew about everything went on.  Whenever anyone asked her how she knew certain things, she said that it was her right to know because it went with her power.  Anytime she said that to anyone, that person only grumbled in response; Celia never gave any answers.  

As Celia's house came into view, Margot and Julie suddenly became quiet.  Cye took a look back at the two girls, who were looking at Celia's house with looks of awe and reverence, like they were seeing vision that came true.  Cye smiled at the looks on their faces.  He may not have known who those two were, but he kinda liked them, for all that they were a little on the weird side.  Their hyperness will take a little getting used to, but I think they can be trusted.  Well, I hope so anyway, Cye thought as they all ascended the walkway up to Celia's front door.  

Celia put her hand to the door handle and pushed it down, opening the door, which she purposely left unlocked.  The group of 18 people filed in, setting their stuff down in the front hallway on the benches.  Julie and Margot just dropped their stuff on the floor as they took in the sight of Celia's house, actually real in front of their faces.  As the others settled in and removed their jackets and shoes, which Julie and Margot had already done, Margot looked down at Julie and whispered, "The library?"  Julie nodded.

"The library," she confirmed.  

Without any warning, Margot and Julie slipped out of the front hall, going unnoticed by all of the warriors, and the next thing the Universal Warriors heard out of the two girls was the sound of their footsteps as they ran down the hall towards the library.  Raye and Serena took off after them, chasing them down the hallway.  "Wait!  Stop!" Serena yelled.

"Get back here!" Raye cried out.  Margot and Julie only ignored each other as they ran down the hallway and turned left, heading towards the library.  They burst in through the door and Julie started scanning the first bookshelves by the door, muttering to herself, her fingers brushing over the bookshelves.  "Ok, ok, 4 shelves over, 3 shelves from the bottom…"  Julie's fingers felt along the inside of the bookcase, her fingers moving over books until she found the small button that she was looking for.  Smiling broadly, she pressed the button and watched as the bookshelf slid away, revealing a hidden passage.  Looking up at Margot, she said, "Nifty."

"Definitely nifty," Margot replied, smiling as well.  Giving each other looks, the two of them entered the passage, the bookshelf closing behind them and Raye and Serena entered the room just at the bookshelf closed up, hiding their secret.  "Now where did they go?" Raye asked.

"I don't know, we're just going to have to look for them," Serena said, beginning to look around the library.

***  
Margot sneezed.  The passage that she and Julie now occupied together was dusty and a little dank after so many obvious years of not being used.  "Ok, it's dusty and really dark in here," Julie said, stating the obvious.  Rubbing her nose to stop the itching feeling from an impending sneeze, Margot said, "Thank you, Captain Obvious."  Julie shot Margot a reproachful look, which went unnoticed in the dark, and said, "Let's just find a light switch or something.  I know there's one in here.  I wrote it in to the story."  Margot and Julie began wordlessly searching the walls around the entrance to the passageway for a light switch.  

Margot's hands felt the walls until she finally found something.  "Ah-ha!" Margot exclaimed as her fingers found a light switch and she flipped up the switch, which lit up the entire passage.  Smiling down at Julie, now able to see her, Margot said, "And God said let there be light."  Julie only rolled her eyes at Margot, a smile all the while spreading over her face, before saying, "Come on, let's see if this actually leads to where it did in the story."

"Sure," Margot said, moving down the passage way with Julie.  They walked for about 20 feet and found themselves at the bottom of a set of stairs.  "This is looking good," Margot muttered as they started up the steps.  They walked up a half of a flight of stairs before the stairwell turned, showing another half flight of stairs that led up to a platform.  

Once on the platform, Julie and Margot came upon two spiral staircases, each of them leading to different places.  Julie pointed at the right staircase, the one in front of her, and said, "This is the one that leads to Raye's room, right?"

"Yeah, and the left staircase leads to Ami's room," Margot said; she knew all about how the secret passageway worked; she was the one who designed it.  "Alright, let's go up," Julie said.  They each took a staircase, Julie on the right one and Margot on the left one.  They climbed about 40 steps or so on the spiral staircases until they each reached a small platform, both of them connecting the stairs to a secret door.  

Julie looked over at Margot, smiling, pointed at the door in front of her and said, "Sage's room?"

"Yep, just like the one in front of me leads to Rowen's room.  You do know how bad this is, Julie."

"Yeah, I know," Julie said, slightly absent.

"No, you don't.  Ami and Rowen's rooms are connected and Raye and Sage's rooms are connected.  It's incredibly evil."

"Why?" Julie asked, "This way, they can sneak to the other's room in the middle of the night.  It's not a bad thing.  Besides, you came up with it."  Margot just rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever, Julie."  Julie looked at Margot and said, "Let's just climb the stairs, Margot."  They each climbed the stairs one more time until they came to another platform.  Margot and Julie walked off the stairs and onto the platforms.  

Margot put her hand to the door handle that was on the secret door and pushed it open.  She smiled.  "Ah, I knew it, Ami's closet.  They do lead to the right place."  Julie opened the door in front of her, which put her in Raye's closet.  Margot looked over at Julie and said, "Let's get back downstairs.  They must be wondering where we are by now."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Julie said, stepping into Raye's closet through the secret door.  Margot did the same for Ami's closet, walking into it.  Once she was in, Margot closed the door behind her and walked out of Ami's walk-in closet, briefly admiring Ami's room.  Careful not to touch anything that would give away that there had been someone in Ami's room, Margot walked through Ami's room, exiting through the door and coming out into the hallway.  She closed Ami's door behind her just as Julie emerged from Raye's room.  

Julie shut the door behind her and leaned against it; it seemed that Julie was already comfortable in Celia's house and she had only been there for 10 minutes.  "Ready to go?" Julie asked.

"Yeah, let's get downstairs."  As they walked down the hallway, Margot said, "I hope they don't kill us for disappearing on them.  They weren't too friendly when we first met them."

"Talk about it!" Julie exclaimed.

"Well, I guess it is understandable.  I mean, if someone I didn't know knew my most guarded secret, I'd be a little suspicious, if not totally distrusting."

"I guess you're right," Julie said as they reached the hallway and turned to go down the stairs.

***

"I can't believe that we lost them!  HOW did we lose them?"

"Serena, I don't know," Raye said, "But they seemed to have disappear on us."

"How then?" Serena asked, leaning against one of the couches in the hallway, "I mean, there's only one way out of this room and that's through the door and they haven't gone out that door; and there's no where to hide that we haven't searched yet."

"Maybe they magically disappeared," Raye suggested, walking towards the door.  Serena pushed herself off of the couch she was leaning on and joined Raye by her side as they walked out of the library.

"Maybe they went home," Serena said as they maneuvered their way through the house, back out to the front hall.  Raye scoffed.

"I don't think we're going to get rid of them THAT easily, Serena."  Serena smiled at Raye.

"I know.  I don't know if I want to get rid of them, either.  They're kinda interesting.  It'd sure be a change to the normal routine around here, that's for sure."

"Definitely," Raye said as they approached the front hall.  Back in the front hall, everyone was waiting for Raye and Serena to get back, hopefully with their two guests.  When Raye and Serena came back empty-handed, Ryo said, "You didn't find them?"

"Nope," Serena said, shaking her head slightly.

"Where did they go?  Didn't you find them?" Sage asked.

"We looked," Raye said, "But they disappeared on us.  There was no trace of them anywhere."  Raye took in a deep breath, preparing to sigh, but stopped herself when the sounds of laughing came from the stairs.  Her brow furrowing, Raye said, "Did you guys hear that?  It sounded like laughing.  You guys heard that, right?"

"Yeah, I heard it," Kento said, his gaze shifting to the stairwell, "Do you think it could be those two?"  Everyone looked towards the stairs as Julie and Margot appeared, walking down them, practically bouncing to the bottom of the steps.  

The Mystical and Ronin Warriors looked astounded, even Celia, as they all wondered how they got from the first floor to the third floor without using the stairs.  "How…how did you get upstairs from the first floor from the library?" Serena asked, needing to know.  Margot and Julie looked at each other, mirth dancing in their eyes, as they said, "Magic."  That statement alarmed everybody.  Of course, how could these two know so much about them if not for magic!  

Their suspicions given more room to grow, they all decided to take care of the mystery of the two new girls.  Ryo and Kento moved to Julie and Margot, each of them grabbing one of their arms, as they dragged them off in the direction of the den.  Sage and Rowen grabbed their stuff off of the floor and carried it into the den, follow the mass of people that were already moving into the den at the same moment.  

As she struggled against Kento's grip on her arm, Margot said, "Celia, help me!"  But, Celia couldn't do anything about it.  "Ow, ow, ow," Julie whined as Ryo tightly gripped her arm, "You could loosen up a little, you know."  They reached the den, where Ryo and Kento promptly shoved Julie and Margot onto a couch as everyone else surrounded them, looking at them suspiciously.  

Celia sat down, away from the crowd, and watched to see how Margot and Julie pulled themselves out of it.  Sage and Rowen threw their stuff at their feet; Julie was outraged.  "Hey!" she exclaimed, "Watch the merchandise.  There are some pretty valuable things I have there in those bags.  Things that took a while to get."  Julie leaned over to check that all her stuff was ok and Margot did the same, just to make sure of course.  

Ami stepped to the front of the group and gave the two girls her most intimidating look.  While intimidating, it didn't have much of an affect on Margot and Julie, but the other looks they were receiving did enough to intimidate.  "Ok, I'm going to say this straight out," Ami said in a clipped voice, "Who are you and where are you from?"

"My name's Margot Freeman."

"And my name is Julie Petersen."

"And we're from California," Margot said.

"How did you get here from California?" Sage asked.  Julie looked at Margot and sighed with annoyance.

"We don't know.  One minute, we were in school and the next, we were in the park," Julie said; she failed to mention that Celia brought them over and she did that on purpose; she didn't want to get Celia involved.

"Why are you guys here?" Lita asked.

"We don't know that either," Margot answered.  Cye smiled at the two girls.  He knew that his friends were being a little hard on the two newcomers, which was too bad because he liked them.  He knew that they could be trusted, but he didn't know how to explain it to the others that he knew; he figured that he knew because of his attribute, which was trust.  

In order to lighten the situation, Cye said, with a smirk on his face, "Where were you on 1:00 in the afternoon on Wednesday, September 22nd?"  Everyone looked at Cye in confusion and humor at his random question, which Julie and Margot thought about seriously.  Margot looked at Julie and said, with a sigh in her voice, "Well, if I'm not mistaken, at 1:00 in the afternoon on Wednesday, we were in…"

"Social Justice," Julie and Margot said, grimacing at the thought of their least favorite class.  Social Justice was cool and everything, just not when it was being taught.

"What's so bad about Social Justice?" Mia asked.

"Everything," Julie said, "But only if it's the class.  Then it sucks."  Mia nodded slowly, a little confused by those two yet.

"Can we get back on track now?" Ami asked.  Margot and Julie looked up at Ami.  "Sure," Margot said.

"Alright," Ami said with satisfaction, "Now, how do you know about the armors, the Silver Crystal, and Metallia?"  Julie and Margot looked at each other again, the looks on their faces slightly annoyed, but they gave in.  

Julie turned back to Ami and said, "I created this universe.  Meaning, I know everything about you guys.  At home, you guys are on TV."

"Yeah right," Kento said, disbelief in his voice.  The others didn't believe Julie as well.

"Do you want us to give examples?" Margot asked.  Leaning over to look through her backpack, Margot pulled out a thin, black binder and opened it to a random page.  On the pages were random pictures of the Sailor Scouts, all of them in different poses.  

The main picture that everyone could see was one of Serena, Raye, Ami, Lita, and Mina, all of them wearing evening gowns that were done in their colors.  Ami, Serena, Lita, and Mina were sitting in a group and Raye was lying in front of them, looking into the camera.  The girls had no recollection of ever taking that picture and the guys absolutely flipped out.  The girls looked absolutely stunning in that picture.  

Julie leaned over to see what picture Margot was showing them and her eyes went wide as she saw it.  Instead of being done in the Japanese Anime that she was used to seeing, it looked real, like real people had posed for the picture.  "Oh my God.  Margot, look at the picture."  Margot turned the binder around so she could see the pictures and gaped.  "They…they're real-looking."  Turning to Julie, she said, "Why do you think that is?"  Julie only shrugged and said, "Maybe it's because we're in this universe that it looks real.  Either that or it's just a figment of our imagination.  I'm hoping for the former."  Margot closed the binder, refusing to think about it any longer.  

The guys were wondering how they could get their hands on that binder to look at what other pictures were in there.  Ami, a little embarrassed at being seen in a picture where she was wearing a strapless dress, said, "What was that?"

"That was a scrapbook of "Sailor Moon" pictures that Julie gave me for Christmas," Margot said.

"Yeah, see, at home, "Sailor Moon" and "The Ronin Warriors" are TV shows.  It's rather, interesting actually," Julie added.  The others were pretty much convinced, but Ami still needed solid proof that they weren't from the Negaverse and were innocent.

"I still am not quite convinced that you're not from the Negaverse," Ami said.  Julie sighed in annoyance and said, "Alright, I have proof for you.  Hold on a minute."  Julie opened her backpack and took out a purple binder, which was full with paper.  

Skimming through the pages, Julie smiled as she found what she was looking for.  Taking out two to three sheets from the binder, all of them full with typewritten words, Julie handed the sheets to Ami and said, "Read that and tell me if that is what you were thinking on that day."  Ami took the sheets from Julie and began reading them.  Rowen moved to read over her shoulder and Julie stopped him before he could take two steps.  "No, Rowen, don't you dare read over Ami's shoulder."

"How did you know that's what I was going to do and how did you know my name?"

"One, I saw you moving towards her, and two, I know everything about you," Julie deadpanned.  All talking ceased as Ami read.  

Every now and then, a small gasp would be heard from Ami as she read something that shocked her.  At one point, Ami turned bright pink and everyone wanted to know what it was that Ami was reading.  "What did you hand her?" Margot asked.  Julie looked up at Margot and said, "I gave her a section from Book 2, Part 4, her point of view," Julie said, referring to the story that she and Margot and Kateri had written together.  Margot nodded in understanding.  "Ah, so many things make sense now."  

Once Ami had finished reading it, she was thoroughly convinced.  There was no way that anyone could have known what she was thinking the night that she comforted Rowen about his nightmares about his past with his father.  "How did you know that?" Ami whispered.

"I told you a few times, I know everything about you.  But don't worry, I won't tell."

"No, that's not possible, I never told anybody about what I was thinking that night.  I've never told anyone what happened that night."  Suddenly, everyone wanted to know what Ami was talking about, but they didn't ask.

"Well, do you believe us now?" Margot asked.

"Yeah, I do," Ami said quietly, "I'm sorry I was so forward and pushy a few minutes ago."

"It's ok," Margot said.

"We forgive you," Julie chimed in.  Ami smiled in relief.  Everything became quiet in the den as there ceased to be conversation topics. 

Sighing, Lita stood up from the chair that she was sitting in and said, "Well, I'm going to go start making dinner."  Kento walked over to Lita and said, "I'll help you."  Together, the two of them walked off to the kitchen and Margot and Julie shared knowing looks; they knew that Kento and Lita had strong feelings for each other, but hadn't voiced them yet.  

The rest of the group dispersed quickly, leaving only Celia, Julie and Margot in the room.  "Well, I guess I'll show you to your rooms."

"No, just tell us where they are," Margot said confidently.

"What?" Celia asked, a little confused.  These girls really messed with her mind and she'd only known them for a couple of hours.

"We know this house," Julie said, "Just tell us where they are and we'll find our way there."

"Um, 2nd floor, any of the first four rooms in the beginning of the hallway."  Margot and Julie picked up their stuff off the floor.  "Thanks," Margot said curtly as she and Julie walked out of the den and moved their way upstairs and to the rooms that Celia told them about, though they already knew what rooms were taken; they did, after all, know Celia's house like the back of their hands.  After discussing briefly the sleeping arrangements, they decided on the first two rooms on the left side of the hallway.  They were sharing a bathroom and next to Julie's room was Rowen's room.  

Margot had set her stuff down in the room, marveling at the actual size of the room.  She had pictured the rooms in her mind, but never as big as they actually were.  Rummaging through her stuff, she pulled out regular clothes and began changing out of her uniform.  She had just finished changing when Julie walked in through the slightly open bathroom door.  "Hello," Julie said, announcing her presence.  Margot turned to see Julie standing there, wearing dark blue jeans and a white tee-shirt, and said, "Hey Chica, what's up?"

"Nothing."  Moving over to sit on Margot's bed, which was done in variations of a blue-greenish color, Julie sat down and said, "Nice room."

"Yeah, and I bet your room is just as nice."

"Actually, it is.  Mine has a rocking sound system in it.  I don't know why, but I'm not going to ask.  I'm just going to leave it there."  Margot glared at her.

"Lucky," she said resentfully, not really meaning it.  Julie only smiled at her briefly before her smile faded.  "Hey, what's wrong?" Margot asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking about home.  Do you think they miss us?  Everybody?  How are they going to deal with us being gone?  How long are we going to be here for?" Julie asked all at once.

"Well, I know lots of people are going to miss us.  I don't know the answers to the other questions.  Only time will tell, Julie," Margot said regretfully, wishing she could answer her friend's questions.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Julie sighed.  "But," Julie continued, "The cool thing about being here is that we know stuff that others don't know about."

"Like what?" Margot asked, needing an example.

"Oh, like the secret love affairs of the Silver Millennium.  Do you think the others know about that, Margot?"

"No, actually, I don't.  If they knew, they'd all be acting differently."  Suddenly, they felt another presence in the room and turned to see who entered the room.  "What secret love affairs?" Celia said as she walked into the room.  Julie and Margot were shocked.  Celia didn't know about those?

"You mean you don't know?" Margot asked.

"No, I've never heard about that.  Tell me what you're talking about?" she demanded.  How could she not know about it?  Margot and Julie gave each other looks of apprehension and shock before turning back to Celia.  "Well," Margot began, "In the Silver Millennium, Darien's 8 generals fell in love with the Mystical and Ronin Warriors.  In fact, they engaged to be married.  The couples were Ami and Cairngorm, Mina and Malachite, Lita and Nephrite, Raye and Jedite, Kento and Almandine, Rowen and Labradorite, Cye and Zoicite, and Sage and Heliodore.  

"But, the princes and princesses somewhere along the line fell in love with someone one else.  Lita feel in love with Kento, Ami fell in love with Rowen, Raye fell in love with Sage, and Cye fell in love with Mina and vice versa.  They all had affairs, cheating on the person they were meant to marry, but they didn't care.  They had to keep their love affairs a secret, but, the generals found out eventually and turned to Metallia for help on getting revenge on their betrothed, just like Beryl did when she found out that Darien preferred Serena over her."  

Margot finished her tale and Celia looked like she was absorbing the information for a couple of moments before she greeted Julie and Margot with a smile.  "Thanks," Celia said, "I never knew about that.  And don't look so shocked," she said in response to the shocked looks on their faces.  "Just because I command the power of time doesn't mean I know absolutely everything.  But, don't tell anyone that I don't know everything; it'll ruin my reputation."  Turning on her heel, she began to walk back out of the room, calling over her shoulder.  "By the way, I came up here to tell you that dinner is at 6:00.  Don't be late."  With that, Celia left the room, closing the door behind her, leaving the stunned girls behind.  

Finally, the shock wore off and Margot looked at Julie.  "I can't believe that she didn't know about that," Julie said, looking at the floor.

"I know.  But, to totally change the topic, what do you think dinner's going to be like?" Margot asked.  Julie only smiled and shook her head in disbelief and humor, chuckling slightly.  "I don't know, but I can't wait to find out.  It's going to be interesting."

"Yeah, our first dinner here," Margot said, a smile on her lips.  Julie only smiled back.

************

Alright, this may be it for a while, although I keep saying that and then updating the next day.  Bad me!  However, I took on a job as a sound board op for a non-profit show and it's made me a bit stressed, what with the amazing amount of schoolwork due and this on top of it all.  Seeing as how this is tech week, I may go insane.  I've already dreamt that I was working sound board, which didn't help me sleep at all  But on the other hand, in my sane moments when I have to take a break, I decided to update for all of you.  So I hope you all enjoyed the chapters and I will hopefully find some time to update after opening night . . . or in other words, after tomorrow. ~DestinyBabe : ) 


	4. Food Fights and First Impressions

Part 3: Food Fights and First Impressions

-September 24th, 1999-

"We're sure that the house is still the same, right?" Margot asked as she and Julie got the bottom of the stairs.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, right?" Julie said as they turned right, heading towards the dining room.  They walked through the large house, marveling at its sheer size.  "I don't think I imagined Celia's house being this big," Margot said in awe, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"Neither did I," Julie said with her voice equally as soft.  

They finally reached the dining room and when they did, they found the table practically full; everyone was there except for Lita and Mia, who was helping Lita finish up dinner.  At the heads of the table sat Darien and Celia.  On Darien's left sat Serena, who was totally engaged in a conversation with Darien.  The seat on Serena's other side was empty, which was the seat that Margot chose, and on the other side of the empty chair sat Ami.  Ami was talking to Rowen, who was sitting on her left, and to Ryo, who was sitting across from her.  In between Ryo and Darien sat two empty chairs, one of them meant for Mia.  Julie sat down across from Margot, next to Ryo, which left the seat on the end, on Darien's right, for Mia.  

On the other side of Ryo was Sage, who was listening to the three-way conversation between Ami, Rowen, and Ryo, who were talking about birthdays.  Sage sat in between Ryo and Raye, the latter who was engaged in a conversation with Mina, who was sitting across from her, about what a creep Craig Goldsmith was for asking her out earlier that day and how much the two of them didn't like him.  The seat on Raye's right was empty, but the seat on Mina's left sat Cye, who sat next to Kento, who had saved a seat across from him for Lita.  Cye and Kento were talking about the skill that was required to work at McDonald's; only God knew why.  

The seat on the other side of Kento was empty, but one more seat over was where Heather was sitting.  Heather was sitting on Celia's right and sitting across from Heather was Alex.  Michelle sat on Alex's left and on the right where Lita would be sitting.  

All in all, the scene was lively and sorta noisy.  No one really noticed Margot and Julie walk into the room.  The only people who really noticed were Serena, Darien, and Ryo.  Almost as soon as Margot and Julie sat down, Lita and Mia came out of the kitchen, their arms laden with dishes.  

It took a couple of trips before all the food was on the table and when it was, Lita, who was in the process of sitting down, announced the dishes.  "Ok, you guys, I felt like doing an American dinner tonight.  We have steak, peas, carrots, salad, two kinds of mashed potatoes, regular and garlic, and gravy.  For dessert, I went healthy and made a fruit salad.  Is that ok with everyone?"  No one objected to the choice of foods that Lita had picked for dinner; whatever she made would be delicious as it was.  

Once everyone was settled in around the table, people began serving themselves, most of them continuing on in their original conversations that were going on before dinner had been served.  As dinner wore on, Julie and Margot became bored, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, it was.  When Julie and Margot got bored, they relieved their boredom in not always the best things when no better alternative was presented.  

Since no one was paying attention to the two new girls at the moment, Julie and Margot were free to carry on as they were at the moment: flicking peas back and forth.  They watched with glee as the tiny trajectories flew across the table, usually hitting Margot or Julie, depending on which side of the table they were launched from.  Both of them feeling rather adventurous, they each scooped up a forkful of mashed potatoes.  Each of them wearing mischievous smiles on their faces, Margot and Julie flung the forkfuls of mashed potatoes at each other.  

But, flinging mashed potatoes takes more skill and aim than flinging peas.  The two girls missed each other completely, hitting other people instead.  Not prepared for what happened, Margot and Julie watched with shock as mashed potatoes hit Serena and Ryo in the face.  As it had turned out, Margot had hit Ryo in the face with the mashed potatoes and Julie had hit Serena.  Serena and Ryo froze as Mia and Darien chuckled slightly.  

Margot and Julie looked utterly terrified; they were scared that Ryo and Serena were going to exact punishment and that it was going to be something awful.  Serena was the first to react.  Scooping up a small handful of mashed potatoes, she aimed for Julie, but hit Ryo instead.  Ryo, who was mad at being hit twice in the face with mashed potatoes, lobbed the same back at Serena, his aim on the mark.  The two cousins started throwing food back and forth, the attentions of everyone on the table on them.  What had started as innocent fun was slowly turning into an all-out food fight.  

Eventually, most everyone joined in, with the exception of Celia, Darien, Kento, Margot, and Julie.  Celia and Darien tried their best to stay out of the line of fire by ducking, Kento tried to stop the food fight, arguing that it was a waste of food, and Margot and Julie hid under the table, wanting to stay out of it as much as possible.  "You guys, stop it," Kento said, "You're wasting all this food, food that would be better off being eaten."  Cye, who was sitting next to Kento, said, "Kento, shut up," before smearing a handful of mashed potatoes in his face.  

Once Cye, who was laughing hysterically, pulled his hand away, Kento looked at him with death in his eyes.  Licking off the mashed potatoes from around his lips, he nodded in approval.  "Hmm, very good mashed potatoes."  Looking at Cye, he said, "You are so dead," before beginning to fling food at his best friend.  

Over on the other side of the table, Serena glanced over at Darien, who was essentially untouched.  Serena, who was covered in mashed potatoes, decided to take action.  Darien didn't expect what happened next.  One minute he was sitting in his chair and the next he was on the floor.  When he looked up to see what had happened, he saw Serena standing on his chair, hiding something behind her back.  Standing up and brushing off his pants, he said, "Serena, what was that for?"  Serena only smiled before pulling the gravy boat out from behind her back and pouring its contents on Darien's head.  

Within seconds, Darien was dripping with gravy.  It was all over his hair, coated his clothes, and ran down his face slowly.  Completely shocked, he wiped the gravy away from his eyes and opened them to look up at Serena.  "Why'd you do that?"  Serena smiled down at him.  "Darien, honey, you were just too clean."  Leaning over, she gave him a kiss on the lips, which tasted heavily of gravy.  She pulled back so she could look him in the eye and said, "I love you, muffin."  Darien only grunted in suspicion.  

The food fight continued on; all of the members of the household were involved, except for Celia, Margot, and Julie.  Celia watched as food was thrown around, finding that she didn't mind.  The area around the table was all marble floor, so anything that landed on the floor wasn't going to stain.  Besides, they all needed to relax and let loose.  They had all been too tense during the last three months with the girls' capture and their recovery from being captured.  Celia, who was looking at Alex and Michelle as they each tried to smear food in each other's hair, wasn't prepared for the attack of food that hit her in the face.  Celia froze, and everyone fell silent, food all over them, as Celia was hit in the side of the face with mashed potatoes.  

Everyone watched in silence, even Margot and Julie, who were still under the table, as Celia picked up her napkin and wiped the food off of her face.  They were all in trouble now, they knew it.  Celia turned her head to look around the table and found Cye standing there with a guilty look on his face.  Celia immediately knew that he had hit her in the face and that it had been by accident.  The look on his face told her that he expected to be kicked out of the house at the least.  Celia stood up, making her presence known totally and looked down at her plate speculatively.  

Grinning slightly, Celia picked up a handful of food and threw it at a guilty looking Cye, who was totally shocked at Celia's rowdy, well, rowdy for her, behavior.  Within seconds, the food fight had resumed, all of the Mystical and Ronin Warriors now involved.  And still under the table were Julie and Margot, trying to keep clear of all food that was being thrown around.  They knew that for the moment, the others had forgotten about them, but they really didn't mind; they didn't want to be remembered at that moment in time.  

"Alright, if they know that we're totally clean and that we were the ones that started this whole fiasco, they're going to cream us with food," Margot said, just loud enough so Julie could hear.

"Yeah, let's sneak out of here and go upstairs," Julie said.

"Right, Julie, easier said than done."

"We have to try," Julie stated, leaving no other options.  The two literally crawled out of there, rising to their feet and breaking out into a run as soon as they got out of the dining room, but it wouldn't have mattered how they got from the hallway to their rooms; no one was paying attention to them.  They got up to Margot's room and immediately shut her door behind them.  

Julie sagged against Margot's door in relief as Margot moved over to her bed and collapsed.  "Well, at least we escaped for the moment," Margot said, her arm over her eyes as she lay on her back.  Julie pushed herself off of the door and said, "Well, I'm going back to my room and I'm going to sleep for a little.  I think it'll be a while before we hear anything from them.  I mean they have to get cleaned up before they do anything else.  So, before I get punished for starting this food fight, I want a nap.  I'll see you later, Margot."

"Yeah, see you later."  Julie walked through the bathroom and into her room.  The last that Margot heard from Julie for a while was the sound Julie's bathroom door closing behind her as she went into her own room to rest.  Margot sighed as she reached for her backpack, her hand disappearing inside of it as she searched for a book to read.  

Finding the one that she wanted, she pulled it out of the bottom of her backpack, with much effort, and stood up, walking to the door.  She opened her bedroom door and stepped out of her room; she was going to find somewhere else to read.  Book in hand, she wandered her way to the stairs before jauntily walking down them.  She went over to the living room and flopped down on one of the huge couches that Celia had strategically placed in there.  Making herself comfortable, Margot opened her book in one hand and calmly began to read.

***  
About an hour later, Julie opened her eyes and found herself wondering where she was for the briefest moment.  She had fallen asleep a little while earlier and now didn't remember where she was.  Sitting up in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of one eye, she looked around the room when realization suddenly hit her.  "Oh, so it wasn't a dream," she muttered, "And here I thought it was all in my head."  Sighing, she was just about lay back down on her bed and try to fall asleep again when she heard someone knock on her door.  Well, it's a good thing someone is here.  I'm not tired enough to go back to sleep, Julie thought as she got off of her bed and moved over to the door.  

She put her hand on the doorknob and twisted it, pulling the door open to reveal all 5 of the Ronin Warriors standing in the hallway, waiting for Julie to answer the door.  Her eyes widened in fear as she saw the 5 guys standing there.  Had they come to make her pay for starting the food fight?  Her eyes took in the calm, friendly looks on their faces and she relaxed slightly, thinking that maybe they would be nice and forgiving.  "What do you guys want?" Julie asked apprehensively.

"We just wanted to say hi," Ryo said, "Do you mind if we come in?"  Ryo indicated the empty room behind Julie with a movement of his hand.

"What?" Julie blinked, still a little out of it.  Almost immediately, she continued.  "Oh, right, yeah, sure.  Come in," she said, moving aside to let them enter the room.  When they had all filed into the room, Julie closed the door and turned around to see all of the Ronin Warriors now on her bed.  She sighed.  "You guys sure don't waste anytime making yourself at home in other people's rooms, do you?"  The guys all looked at each other before turning to Julie with smiles on their faces.  "Nope," they said, all at once.  

Julie just chuckled a little bit before moving towards the center of the room, reaching her bed and sitting on the head of her bed.  The guys, too, were sitting on her bed, forming a circle with Julie at the head.  Julie drew in a breath and said, "So, why are you guys in here again?"

"We wanted to say hi and get to know you," Cye said, "It's not everyday that we meet someone one from a different universe, you know."

"Yeah, we just wanted to make you feel a little more comfortable also," Rowen added on, "We know how it feels to have to get used to a different house when you've been living in a certain house for a while."  Julie smiled at the thought.  "Well, isn't that nice of you guys?"

"Don't mention it," Sage said right as Kento said, "So, what's home like?"

"Home?  You mean California?"  Julie looked at Kento as he nodded.  "Sunny," Julie said in a simple statement.  Kento only rolled his eyes.  "No, that's not what I meant," he said with a sigh of exasperation, "I mean, what's your family like?  What's school like for you?  Stuff like that."

"Oh, I get it now."  Julie smiled and pointed to her head.  "I'm quick," she said with a smirk on her face.  

Turning serious, she said, "Well, I have two parents and I'm the oldest of three."

"Yeah, oldest children unite!" Kento said, holding out his hand to Julie so she could high-five him.  Julie smiled and gave Kento a high-five.  "That's right, I forgot that you're the oldest of 5," Julie said.

"How did you know that?" Kento asked, pulling his hand away from the high-five.

"I know everything about you guys.  I know your family background, your armor names, the whole battle with Talpa, and your experiences here.  Including the people you all have crushes on."  

Julie watched with dim satisfaction as 5 faces each turned a shade of pink.  "You won't tell them, will you?" Sage asked, nervousness in his voice.  Julie looked at Sage sympathetically.

"No, I won't tell them.  That would be cruel and I don't want to be cruel to you guys.  I like you guys too much."  That seemed to catch their attentions.

"You don't have a crush on any of us, do you?" Rowen asked; her last statement had alarmed them.  Julie looked at them, wide-eyed, with shock on her face.  

She just stared at all of them for a few minutes before saying, "No, of course I don't.  If I did, I would have to withdraw my support of you guys getting together with your crushes and I don't want to do that."

"Ok, good," Ryo said, "Because so many of the girls at school had crushes on us when we first started going there."

"I know," Julie said, "Remember?  I know everything about you guys."  Suddenly, Kento's eyes lit up.

"Can you tell us our future, since you know everything about us?" Kento asked.  Julie cringed.  She knew parts of their future, but she couldn't tell them.  "Sorry, I don't know your future.  I think that your future is something that has to be decided by you, so, even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," Julie said, half-telling the truth; she was being truthful that she wouldn't tell them their future even if she knew, which she kinda did.

"Oh, rats," Kento said with a snap of his fingers.

"Yeah, I know, life sucks.  I'm sorry," Julie said, apologizing once more.

"It's not your fault," Cye said, "We don't expect you to know."

"Thanks," Julie said gratefully; that would get them off of her back in regards to their future.

"So, how long have you known Margot?" Sage asked.

"Since the beginning of freshman year of high school, so about, 2 years or so."

"And she's your best friend?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah, she and another girl named Kateri," Julie said, leaning back against her pillows.

"Is Kateri at home?" Rowen asked.

"Yeah, she's still there.  God, if she were here…" Julie said, giggling slightly.

"If she were here what?" Cye said.

"If she were here, she'd absolutely freak out.  Sailor Moon is, like, her favorite show in the whole universe.  She'd be giddy beyond belief," Julie said, thinking about her friend.  I wonder how Kateri will deal with us being gone? Julie thought sadly.  

From there, the topic moved on.  The 6 of them talked for about 45 minutes or so, talking about lots of different things, mainly things about Julie and her home.  Julie asked them a whole bunch of questions about the routines of the household and just general, everyday things that she didn't know about them.  

Julie wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes as she calmed down.  Kento and Cye had been making fun of each other, getting into an insult war, which the others all found hilarious.  "You guys are great," Julie said, "I love you guys."  Pausing, she looked around at the 5 of them and said seriously, "You guys are my sexy bitches."  All of them looked at her, confused looks on their faces.  "What's that supposed to mean?" Rowen asked.

"Oh, nothing really.  It's what I call all my guys friends.   When I get together with all of them, it's me and then my sexy bitches.  It's just something I do.  I'm weird like that.  No one quite knows why."

"Well, we like it," Kento said, "You're just weird enough to fit into our circle of friends."

"Let me guess," Julie said with laughter in her voice, "I'm going to become one of the guys, aren't I?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Cye said, "You're already halfway there and we've only known you for a few hours."

"We're warning you though, once you become one of our friends, you won't be able to get rid of us," Ryo said.  

Julie smiled widely at Ryo.  "Don't worry," she said, "I don't think I could even if I wanted to."  The other guys only smiled back.

***  
Margot smiled as she finished her book, giggling slightly at the cuteness of the ending.  The two main characters in the book that she had been reading ended up together.  As they should be, Margot thought.  Her mind drifted to the happy ending of the book and she giggled again.  Uh-oh, here I go into giggle mode.   Once Margot went into giggle mode, it was hard to get her out of it and people tended to be a little scared of her when she went into giggle mode.  

She was still reveling in the cuteness of her book when she heard a voice call out, "There you are!"  Her head swiveled to see Serena, Raye, Lita, Ami, and Mina walking towards her.  Margot was suddenly speechless.  Were they coming to yell at her or hurt her for starting the food fight earlier?  "Yes, here I am.  I've been here for a while," Margot said, getting her lack of speech.

"We've been looking for you," Raye said, "We need to talk to you."  Margot's eyes widened.  Uh-oh, they're mad at me.  I'm going to get it now, Margot thought with fear.

"What about?" she asked slowly.  The 5 girls looked at each other, Serena with a look of encouragement on her face and the others with looks of nervousness.  They all moved to sit down on the couches in the living room, all of them sitting close together, and were silent.  

After a few minutes of silence, Mina was the first to speak up.  "Um, you don't…have a crush on Cye, do you?  Or any of the other guys?"  Margot's mouth dropped in shock.  She hadn't seen that question coming.  Margot sat there gaping at Mina for a few moments before saying, "Where did you get that idea?"

"Well, most of the girls we know seem to have crushes on the guys and we thought that you, and Julie, might have a crush on one of them."  Margot nodded in understanding as she considered Mina's question.

"I don't have a crush on Cye.  Cye is…Cye.  There's no better way to describe him.  I like him and all, but I don't have a crush on him.  Or any of the other guys for that matter."

"What about Julie?" Raye asked.  Margot shook her head violently.

"No way," Margot said, "Sure, the Ronin Warriors may be on her favorite TV show, but she doesn't have crushes on any of them.  I don't think the thought has even entered her head."  Margot suddenly heard sighs of relief from 4 girls.  "Well, that's a relief," Lita said.

"See?  I told you guys you had nothing to worry about," Serena said.

"I guess you were right," Ami said, "I think we were just being a little paranoid."

"You guys were worried that I was going to try and steal the guys from you, weren't you?" Margot asked bluntly.  All of the girls turned bright pink except for Serena, who grinned broadly.  "That's exactly what they were worried about, Margot," Serena said, "But, now, they have nothing to worry about."  

The look on Serena's face suddenly sobered a little as what Margot just said finally hit her.  "Wait, how did you know about that?  About them liking the guys?"  Margot smirked.

"I know everything."  She paused as they looked at her incredulously.  "Well, not "everything" everything," she continued, "But I know a lot.  Like, your past and things like that."

"That's a little scary," Lita said, "Some of us have things that we'd like to keep in the past."

"I know that," Margot said, "And I'm not going to tell anybody any of those things that I know you guys are going to want to keep secret."

"Um, thanks, I guess," Mina said.

"No problem," Margot said.

"So," Raye said, drawing the topic away from the guys and her past, "What's your home like?"

"Well, I live in California with my family.  I go to school, I do normal teenage things."

"What's your family like?" Mina asked.

"I have two parents, three older brothers and one younger sister."

"So you're 4 out of 5?" Ami asked.

"Yeah and it gets annoying sometimes.  I mean, imagine being one kid out of 5, clambering for your mother's attention.  It gets annoying and really hectic."

"I can see how that kinda sucks sometimes," Raye said.

"Yeah, but I love my family…most of the time."

"What's school like for you?" Ami asked.  Margot smiled.  That was such an Ami question, Margot thought before saying, "Well, I go to an all-girls catholic school, so, no boys.  Which can suck, but it can be really cool.  Everyone at my school is so open, especially in the hallways.  Only at my school can you find girls who change in the locker hall.  We really don't care because there's no one there to see it.  Of course, I don't change in the locker hall, but others do.  And we tend to be a little loud, so, be prepared.  Julie and I can be really loud when we want to be."  

Margot smiled even wider and continued with, "I'm just warning you."

"Oh, don't worry," Raye said, a smirk on her face, "We deal with Serena's loudness every day."

"Yeah, we deal with my…HEY!!  Raye, that's not fair!" Serena cried out.  Ami, Mina, and Lita sighed as the two of them started squabbling.  Moments like this were far and in between, thank god, but still really annoying.  

Margot laughed as she watched Serena and Raye trade insults.  Mina turned to Margot and said, "Why are you laughing?"  Margot calmed down her laughter to small giggles as she explained.  "I've always thought that watching Raye and Serena fight was funny; it absolutely amazes me that no matter how many times it happens, Raye can still get Serena on almost anything and vice versa."

"Hey, you stay out of this!" Raye and Serena growled at Margot, who was now cowering in the corner of the couch.  "Heh, heh, sorry," Margot said quickly.  Raye and Serena backed off and Margot settled back down.  

Quickly, her eyes flickered to the clock and she cringed slightly.  It was 5 minutes to 10 o'clock.  "Ooh, I should probably go upstairs and start getting ready for bed."  Margot stood up, making sure that her book was in her hand, and started to walk out of the room.  A thought suddenly occurring to her, she turned around.  "Hey, do you guys want to walk up with me?  I'm sure that it's time for you guys to start getting ready to go to sleep," Margot said politely.  The girls all agreed.  "Sure, we'll go up with you," Lita said, "And you're right, it is time for us to be getting ready for bed."  

Together, the 6 girls left the living room and made their way up the stairs to the 2nd floor.  They began walking down the hallway and were about to enter Margot's room when they heard the sounds of loud talking coming from Julie's room next door.  Her face taking on a look of confusion, Margot walked over to Julie's door.  

She opened it wide to reveal the Ronin Warriors and Julie, sitting on her bed, just laughing and talking.  "Well, looks like I missed a party," Margot said, entering the room with the girls following close behind.  Julie, the first one to notice that the door had opened, turned to see Margot and the girls behind her.  "Oh, hey guys, come on it.  The more the merrier."  The 6 girls entered the room and neared the bed.  "So, what have you been up to, Julie?" Serena asked.

"Well, the guys and I have been talking for a while."

"About?" Serena prompted.

"Oh, everything," Julie said enthusiastically.  The guys, who had turned to look at the newcomers, agreed with Julie about "everything".  Rowen turned to Margot and said, "Hey, Margot, is Julie usually this loud and excited about everything?"

"Most of the time," Margot said, "It really all depends on the subject.  She's usually very excited about everything except for the things that she doesn't like."

"Hey, will you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Julie whined.

"Don't worry, I don't think we could forget that you're here," Ryo said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Well, thanks for making me feel wanted," Julie said, pouting, not being sincere.  

The pout soon turned into a smile as she looked at Margot.  "So, Margot, what have _you_ been up to?"

"Well, I was down in the living room reading for a while when the girls came in and we talked for a while.  Then we decided that it was time to come back upstairs and get ready for bed."

"Oh really?  What did you guys talk about?" Julie asked.

"Margot and her home life," Mina said hurriedly, wanting to keep Margot from saying that they had been talking about the guys when the guys were right in front of them.  Julie caught the hurried tone of voice and said, "Ahh, I see," right before she yawned loudly.  "Well," Julie said, "If you guys will excuse me, I'm going to get ready for bed.  I'm sleepy."

"Oh, ok Julie.  I guess we'll see you tomorrow," Cye said as he and the other Ronin Warriors got off the bed and started moving out of Julie's room.

"Yeah, good night," Sage said as the guys finally departed and moved down the hallway to their respective rooms, leaving Margot, Julie and the girls in Julie's room.

"Well, that takes care of them," Margot said, "But, I'm going to go get ready for be myself."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I'm tired too," Raye said, "We've all had a long day."

"I agree; the idea of going to sleep sounds really good right about now," Ami said.

"Well, we'll all go up to bed and leave you two to get ready.  Good night," Lita said as the girls started leaving the room as well.  Margot followed them to the door and she and Julie, who was still sitting on her bed, said, "Good night."  Margot closed the door as the girls left and turned back to Julie.  "Well, we've had a very eventful day and I, for one, am exhausted.  I'm going to go to sleep.  I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Yeah, 'night Margot," Julie said as Margot moved through the bathroom and into her own room.

"Good night, Julie," Margot called out before she closed the bathroom door.  Julie smiled as she too got up and closed the bathroom door before moving over to her backpack and beginning to get ready for bed.

*******

Another part!  Finally, I have had time to update for you all.  Well, I hope you enjoyed.  This is one of my favorite parts just because of the food fight.  Not that I personally know what a food fight is like, but sometimes I think it would be awfully fun.  Look for another update later this week! : ) ~DestinyBabe


	5. Back to School Blues

Hi all – just one little note here.  In this chapter, all italics are meant to be singing.  You'd probably figure that out fast enough without me!  Enjoy!

Part 4: The First Day of School

-Wednesday, October 3rd, 1999-

Margot and Julie relaxed onto the couches in the common TV area on the second floor near their rooms.  Since all the rest of the group had gone to school, the two girls could relax and just hang out for a while until the rest came home.  

Julie was watching television, comparing the shows in Japan to the ones over in America.  Margot was thoroughly ensconced in a book that Darien had lent her, a nice, easy science fiction story.  Julie smiled as she glanced up from the television.  "This is the life," Julie said, "No homework, no school, no teachers nagging us, and no uniforms!  I could get used to this!"

"Oh, didn't I tell you two?" Celia inquired as she walked down the stairs from her private office on the fourth floor.  "I signed you up for school this morning.  You are going to the same school as Serena and the rest."  Two thuds resounded through the room as a pair of jaws hit the floor. 

"But Celia!  I didn't think that was possible!" Margot cried out in astonishment.  "After all, we have no guardians in real life and we don't have our records or anything.  Heck, we don't even know if our school exists over here.  There isn't any possible way that you could have managed to get through all the technical details of the applications."  Celia smiled as she pulled two twin papers from her briefcase.  Sometimes, being an influential member of the school board had its advantages.  

"Actually, these two little papers say otherwise.  Maybe you would care to read them yourselves.  I'll be downstairs."  With that, she handed the two startled teens their accepted applications and walked off down the stairs.  The two girls read over the official looking documents and gaped.  Somehow, Celia had signed them up for the local school.  

According to the papers, Margot and Julie were exchange students from America.  As Ryo's cousins, their guardian was also Celia.  As for school transcripts, Celia had cited that although both girls had rather good grades, the school they had formerly attended had had a little mishap with the filing and a few transcripts, including the two in question, were missing.  

The two girls finished reading and stared at the papers they held in astonishment.  Not only were they now Ryo's cousins, they were signed up for school!  Two minutes later, they found Celia enjoying a cup of tea in the kitchen.  She looked up as the two girls entered the room.  Both teens had fixed their most pitiful puppy dog looks on their faces and were approaching Celia carefully.

"Dear, dear Celia…"

"Surely this can all be straightened out!  After all…"

"We were already going to school over in America and we don't really need to take classes here, do we?  After all, no one would know if we didn't go to school."

"And we will be really good, we promise.  We'll keep our rooms clean and not go out into town during school hours and help you around the house and office.  Heck, I will personally clean the entire house from top to bottom and inside out.  Just please, please, please…"

"Don't force us to go back to that torture room they call school and have our heads once again stuffed with information."  

Celia looked pensive for a moment.  She leaned back and observed the two girls now groveling on the floor at her feet over her teacup.  She tapped her fingertip against the China.  "As tempting as that offer to clean the house from top to bottom is, I am afraid that it is too late for negotiations.  You two are going to school, whether you like it or not.  I was lenient and waited this long so you could settle in, but I am afraid that I must insist that you two attend school tomorrow.  How, I am not going to change my mind.  I've already bought your school uniforms.  You two are attending school and that is final."

"We'll see about that," Margot muttered as she walked out of the room with Julie.

***  
The next day, general chaos exploded through the house, as usual, as the group began to get themselves ready for school.  Celia had presented Julie and Margot with their brand new school outfits and a pair of book bags.  The two girls dressed slowly and joined the rest for breakfast.  Having no books, they picked up their bags and waited as the rest got ready.  

As the rest of the girls and guys walked out of the door chattering, the two reluctant ones hung back.  They snuck backwards away from the gaggle and tried to run for the nearby entry hall closet.

"Not today girls," Celia said as she pushed the two protesting girls out the door and into the crowd, swinging the door shut behind them.  

Margot immediately latched onto the doorknob of the closed front door and clung there, wailing.

"Celia, you can't send us back to that prison the call a school!  Please don't make us go, please!"  She wailed again, tears coursing down her cheeks.  

Nearby, Alex stopped adjusting the helmet she was wearing.  Leaning on her bike, the bike that both her and Michelle rode to school, she grimaced.  "Jeez, I thought only Serena could cry like that," She said.  Serena glared at the blonde.  "Sorry Serena," Alex apologized, "No offense princess, but you did tend to cry loudly like that in the beginning.  I just never thought that that decibel level could be duplicated by a human being."  Margot's wails cut off mid-vowel.  She hiccupped and looked over at Alex, glaring at the grinning girl.  

As she loosened her grip on the doorknob, Kento and Ryo grabbed her, one by each arm, and dragged her off.  Nearby, Julie attempted to sneak away unnoticed into the shrubbery surrounding the walkway.  She had almost made it behind a particularly high bush when a hand reached out and snagged the sailor collar of her shirt.  

Sage grinned at the shorter girl as she struggled to free herself from his iron grip.  She finally gave up with a sigh, not willing to rip her uniform.  Rowen moved nearer and helped Sage by securing one of Julie's wrists in his larger hand.  Julie looked up at the two boys with big puppy eyes.

"Tough for you.  If I have to go to school, so do you," Sage said as he tugged her back to join the group, which no included a struggling Margot being propelled along by her two not so friendly escorts.

"Nonononononono!!  Let go of me!  Don't make me go back to the evil place they call school.  I don't want to!  You can't make me.  It's gotta be some kind of child abuse or something," cried Margot as she was dragged along the street backwards.  Ami piped up.

"How is it child abuse?  And what is it you hate about school so much?"  The two girls looked at Ami in shock.  "It's just school in general and the classes.  If we have to take one more class like Social Justice…"  Margot shivered as she let her words trail off.

"Social Justice?" Ami asked.

"Just don't ask.  Class from hell.  That about sums it up," Julie said simply.  The group continued their march in silence.  

Rowen let got of Julie, trusting her to not run away, but he hovered nearby just in case while Kento and Ryo still dragged Margot along, not trusting her to stay, rather than run back home.  Julie dragged her feet as she walked along next to Cye.  Cye looked at the scowling girl and smiled.  "Frankly Julie," he said, "I am surprised you didn't latch yourself to that doorknob too."  Julie glared at him.

"Margot beat me to it."

***  
At lunch that day, everyone sat down outside in a group to eat their lunches.  Not surprisingly, the only two missing were…yup!  Margot and Julie had apparently disappeared after receiving their food from the lunch line.  The group laughed.

"I wouldn't want to be those two when Celia finds out they ditched school at lunch," Raye said, laughing as she dug into her food.  Sage laughed.

"After all they've gone through, I wouldn't put it past the two of them."  Cye smiled.

"I doubt they really ditched school.  After all, they know Celia would use their rears for target practice.  So, it's highly unlikely that they ditched.  They may be a bit out of it, but they are not that stupid."  Ryo chuckled and said, "Are you willing to bet on that Cye?"  At that moment, an acorn fell out of the tree above him and hit him on the head.  Ryo glanced up, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.  Rubbing his head, he turned back to the conversation.

***  
Up in the tree above them, Margot and Julie perched in the branches, holding their sandwiches in one hand while eavesdropping on the conversation.  Julie dusted her hands, proud of the perfect aim she had with the acorn she had dropped.  "We gotta teach those guys a lesson!" said Margot as she bit into the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  "They have to learn that it doesn't pay to laugh at the two of us.  After all, we nay not have their special powers, but we are perfectly able to get back at them in other ways."

"I think I have an idea," Julie said as the surveyed the five boys below her, grinning evilly.  "Just you guys wait!  It's payback time!"

***

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Yes, I'm sure this is going to work.  Do we have the video camera?" Julie asked Margot as the two of them stealthily made their way through the training room to where the guys' shower room was.  

The two girls had overheard the Ronin Warriors discussing going out after training and that they were just going to shower and get ready downstairs before they left, which would save time.  Of course, Julie and Margot happened to overhear that piece of information and decided to use it against them in the form of revenge for dragging them off to school earlier that morning, despite the fact that the two girls had been vociferously protesting.

"Yes, we have the video camera.  This is going to be fun," Margot said with a mischievous grin on her face as she handed the camera to Julie.

"Yeah, I just hope we don't get caught."  Margot gave Julie a stern look.

"Don't tell me that you're having doubts now.  I thought that you were confident that this was going to work. After all, it was your idea so you should have no worries."  Julie glared at her best friend.

"I may have cooked up this revenge scheme, but that doesn't mean that I'm not worried we're going to get caught."  Julie paused and smiled, shrugging her shoulders.  "Besides," she continued, "if we do get caught, it's going to take the guys a long time to catch up to us because they very well aren't going to run after us naked.  They aren't stupid enough to do that."

"Oh, are you so sure of that, Julie?" Margot asked, "If you ask me, I think they can be very stupid."

"Why do you say that?" Julie asked as the made sure that the video camera worked, half-paying attention to Margot's words.

"Well, they messed with us and that was rather dumb of them because now they're going to pay the price."  Julie chuckled slightly in agreement.  

"Well," Julie said, lowering the camera away from her face, "I think we're ready to rock and roll."  The two of them carefully, and as quietly as they could, pushed the door open, not wanting to alert the guys and announce their presence.  

As the two girls slowly moved their way into the room, they could hear the sounds of the guys getting ready to take their showers.  "What exactly are we looking for?" Margot whispered to Julie as she crept along behind her.

"I don't know.  Anything weird they do in the shower that we can use to get them back with.  They're guys and when they get together, they do weird things.  It's like they turn into 8-year olds."  They heard the sound of running water from the showers at the other end of the room and peered beyond a corner to see steam rising from 5 shower stalls, each stall complete with its own set of feet peeking out from underneath the shower curtains and a head visible from above the curtain.  Wordlessly, Julie raised the camera and started filming, zooming out so she could capture all 5 showers stalls.  

There were no words or anything out of the ordinary from any of the guys for a few moments before the two girls saw movement coming from the shower curtain that was in the middle of the 5 and Ryo poked his head out of behind the shower curtain.  Julie and Margot held their breaths, praying to a higher deity that they wouldn't get caught.  Luckily for them, the spot that they had picked out was one where the guys couldn't see them, but Margot and Julie could see the guys. 

"Hey Kento," Ryo said, "Turn on the music.  I need a little background noise."  Julie and Margot sighed with relief, which went unheard by the guys due to the sound of the running water that masked the sound, as they realized that Ryo was talking to Kento.  A hand and a head snaked out of behind the shower curtain at the far left of the row, which Margot and Julie recognized as a wet Kento, and reached out for a stereo that was placed on a high shelf by the showers.  "Roger, dodger," Kento said with a smile on his face as he turned on the stereo.  

There was silence for a few moments before Margot and Julie heard the sounds of a rather upbeat and sensual song coming out of the speakers.  Within moments, the two girls had identified the song as Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time".  What happened next, the two were not prepared for.  As Britney's voice wafted out of the speakers, one of the guys began to sing. 

_Oh baby, baby_

Julie and Margot's ears perked up as they identified the singer who was singing along as Ryo.  They looked at Ryo's stall, the camera all the while focused on all 5, and were just in time to see Ryo begin to dance.  The only reason why they could tell he was dancing was because they could see a faint outline of his body from behind the shower curtain, as they could with all the other guys.  The two girls' mouths were agape as they continued to watch Ryo sing.

_Oh baby, baby_

_Oh baby, baby_

_How was I supposed to know_

_That something wasn't right here_

_Oh baby, baby_

_I shouldn't have you go_

_And now you're out of sight, yeah_

Julie and Margot could barely contain their laughter as they watched Ryo dance, him stepping around in a circle, all the while lathering up his arms with soap.  They were surprised at how good Ryo could sing, but it seemed that, for the moment, he was finished singing.  

Suddenly, the singer changed to Cye, who came in singing with a better singing voice than Ryo.

_Show me_

_How you want it to be_

_Tell me baby_

_'Cause I need to know now_

_Oh, because._

The two girls watched as Cye grooved in his own shower stall, marveling at how crazy the two guys were.  As the chorus approached, all of the guys chimed in, each of them doing their own dance.

_My loneliness_

_Is killing me (and I)_

_I must confess_

_I still believe (still believe)_

_When I'm not with your I lose my mind_

_Give me a sign_

_Hit me baby one more time._

The chorus ended and the small instrumental started up.  The two girls were ready to explode with mirth.  They couldn't believe what they were seeing.  It just wasn't possible.  Yet, it was perfect for their purposes.  They knew what they had to do with the footage.  As the two were planning what to do, the second verse started up, Sage singing along with Britney.

_Oh baby, baby_

_The reason I breathe is you_

_Boy you've got me blinded_

_Oh pretty baby_

_There's nothing that I wouldn't do_

_It's not the way I planned it_

Margot and Julie thought it was hilarious as they saw Sage, or rather the outline of his body, shimmy up and down the beat of the music, a definitely feminine move.  But, what was funnier, was what Rowen started doing as he sang.

_Show me_

_How you want it to be_

_Tell me baby_

_'Cause I need to know now_

_Oh, because_

As Rowen sang, the loofah scrub that he was holding in his hand flew up in the air and he started swinging it in the air, his body moving in little waves.  Margot covered her mouth to keep from laughing and Julie bit the inside of her lip; it was all they could do to keep from exploding as the 5 guys started singing again.

_My loneliness_

_Is killing me (and I)_

_I must confess_

_I still believe (still believe)_

_When I'm not with you I lose my mind_

_Give me a sign_

_Hit me baby one more time_

The chorus ended for a second time and Kento began singing, acting out the words with great melodramatics.

_Oh baby, baby_

_Oh baby, baby_

_Oh baby, baby_

_How was I supposed to know_

_Oh pretty baby_

_I shouldn't have let you go_

Kento, once he was finished, handed the spotlight onto Ryo, who began singing again with great energy.

_I must confess_

_That my loneliness_

_Is killing me now_

_Don't you I still believe_

_That you will be here_

_And give me a sign_

_Hit me baby one more time_

The guys all started singing together, singing the chorus one last time as a group.

_My loneliness_

_Is killing me (and I)_

_I must confess_

_I still believe (still believe)_

_When I'm not with you I lose my mind_

_Give me a sign_

_Hit me baby one more time_

Ryo, once again, took the lead as the other guys backed him up with the chorus.  Ryo, whose hands were working to the beat of the music, had somehow managed to get all of his shampooed hair on top of his head and manipulated it into a gigantic cowlick.  But, that didn't seem to matter to Ryo as he sang with the other guys as backup singers.

_I must confess_

_(My loneliness)_

_That my loneliness_

_(Is killing me)_

_Is killing me now_

_(I must confess)_

_Don't you know I still believe_

_(I still believe)_

_That you will be here_

_And give me a sign_

_Hit me baby one more time_

The song faded out and Margot and Julie had had enough watching them in the shower.  As the music changed to a totally different song, Julie and Margot burst out of the shower room, letting a few loud giggles escape their mouths.  The guys heard the giggles and Rowen poked his head out of the shower.  "What was that, you guys?" he asked.

"I don't know," Sage said, peering over the shower curtain, "But it doesn't really matter.  It probably came from outside or something."

"I hope nobody heard us singing," Rowen said as he put his head back in the shower stall.

"Nobody heard us, Rowen," Ryo said, "You're just being suspicious."  Rowen only shrugged.

***  
Margot and Julie burst out of the shower room and ran until they reached the stairs until they burst out into uncontrollable laughter.  "That was the funniest thing I have ever seen," Margot forced out between fits of laughter.  Julie couldn't respond, she was laughing so hard; the only thing she could do was turn off the video camera and clutch her sides in laughter.  

By the time the two of them had calmed down, they were totally out of breath and their sides ached from laughing so hard.  Margot wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and she looked down at Julie, who was sitting on the stairs, stabilizing her breathing.

"What do we do now?" Margot asked Julie.

"We figure out what we're going to do with this tape.  But, before that, we have to edit the end slightly to cut out our laughing."

"Oh, let's get to it then," Margot said, "This is going to be great," Margot finished, rubbing her hands together evilly.  Julie smiled up at her best friend before they wordlessly went upstairs to plan the Ronin Warriors' humiliation.

***  
A few hours later, after the guys had gone and come back from grocery shopping, which was what they were being sent out to do, Margot and Julie had snuck down to the family room, courtesy of the secret passageway that led from underneath the stairs and snaked around the house until it reached the family room.  

Once they had arrived in the family room, the two girls silently pushed the television into the ballroom and hooked it up to the wonderful stereo system that was in the ballroom for when there were parties held there.  Luckily for them, the stereo system could be hooked up to the intercom and the sound could be blasted through the house.  Margot held the tape in her hand as Julie finished hooking up the VCR to the television, the final preparation step.  Julie stood up and looked at Margot.  "Are you ready to do this?" Julie asked Margot, "Because once we put that tape in, there's no turning back.

"I am so ready to go through with this," Margot said.  Margot sniffed the air and smelled the sweet aromas of Lita's cooking.  "Besides," Margot said, "The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can eat.  I'm hungry."

"Ok, then," Julie said, "Put in the tape and let's get back up to our room.  Everyone is in the dining room, waiting for us to come down to dinner, so they'll all come into this room at the sound of the tape starting."  Margot smiled in affirmation and put the tape in the VCR.  She then turned on the TV, pressed the play button on the VCR, turned on the stereo, and finally turned on the intercom as sounds of running water came out of the stereo speakers, which the intercom picked up and sent through the house.  

By the time that Julie and Margot had snuck back into the family room and into the secret passageway, everyone else in the house, who was in the dining room, could hear the sounds of something coming out of the ballroom.  All of them extremely confused, the Universal Warriors moved into the ballroom to see the TV in there.  On the television screen were 5 shower stalls, all of them occupied.  No one knew what was going on until they heard Ryo's voice coming out of the speakers.  "Hey Kento, turn on the music.  I need a little background noise."

"Roger, dodger," Kento said as he turned on the music.  Everyone started laughing, except for the Ronin Warriors, as they watched the 5 guys sing and dance to Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" on the television.  The guys knew they had been set up and they knew who had done it; the only people they knew who could set this up.  

As the rest of the group watched the video, Darien, who was still laughing, said, "Now I know why I don't take showers downstairs.  Something like this could happen."  Once the video ended, the Ronin Warriors, who were absolutely livid, turned around and began marching upstairs to Julie and Margot's rooms.  The other 11 warriors followed, laughing the whole way.  They also knew who had done it and wanted to congratulate the two girls.  

The Universal Warriors reached Margot's room and Ryo opened the door and marched into Margot's room to see the two girls studiously doing their homework.  Margot was sitting at her desk, answering questions out of a history book, and Julie was lying down on Margot's bed, reading for English.  The two looked like they had been sitting there since the moment they got home because they were still in their school uniforms.  

Margot and Julie both looked up at the group, their eyes wide with innocence.  "What's going on?  Is it dinner time?" Margot asked, feigning innocence.

"You know what's going on," Sage growled, "You set that whole thing up."

"What whole thing?" Julie asked, just as innocent as Margot, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do.  You filmed us in the shower, singing to Britney Spears," Cye said, anger creeping into his voice.  The two girls burst out into laughter from what seemed like the thought of the 5 guys singing to Britney Spears when in fact they were laughing at the memory of seeing them singing to Britney Spears, but nobody knew that.  "You?" Margot asked.

"Singing to Britney Spears?" Julie asked.

"That's the funniest thing I've ever heard," Margot said with humor in her voice.

"Yeah, I wish I had thought of filming them doing that.  I'd sure like to take the blame for that prank."  The Ronin Warriors watched the two girls with scrutinizing gazes.  They had no proof that the girls did it, so they couldn't get them on it, but they knew that it was Margot and Julie who filmed them in the shower.  

Frustrated at not being able to call them on it with physical proof, the Ronin Warriors left Margot's room, slamming the door behind them.  The other Universal Warriors were still in Margot's room and as soon as the door slammed shut, all 11 of them began applauding.  Margot and Julie both took bows and straightened up with smiles on their faces.  "I must say," Serena said, "Excellent job.  That was the best thing I've seen in ages."

"I agree," Raye said, "It was funny to see them dancing in the shower.  You guys are evil."  Margot and Julie only looked at each other.  "We know," they said in unison as Darien opened the door and led the group out, including Margot and Julie, as they all walked back down to dinner.  

****************

Hi again!  Just wanted to drop a note in here.  I hope you all enjoyed that little humorous escapade.  There is an interlude that comes between this and the next chapter, but as I haven't quite finished it, it may be updated into the story later, so keep your eyes peeled for it.  Otherwise, look for an update later this week, maybe early this weekend.

Also, to Ninmast – you know, I never really thought about the questions and ideas you brought up, but FateChica firmly believes that there must be a parallel universe somewhere where this story exists.  I don't know what to think, but you certainly got my mind turning with your review.  And don't worry, there're still three more books for you to try and be first to review on! : )  

Aphrodite2 – thanks for the review!  I can't believe you read book two five times!  Wow, talk about liking something.  I mean, I've read book 3 several times since we wrote it, but then, I'm coauthor.  Thanks for the great review and I hope you'll continue sharing your opinion with us!

And everyone else who has reviewed, you are the bestest.  And if you haven't reviewed – we do appreciate you comments and constructive criticisms, so feel free! : )  ~DestinyBabe


	6. A Forced First Date

Part 5: A Forced First Date

-October 30th, 1999-

Mia was watching TV with Rowen and Kento on the second floor when Margot and Julie arrived home one Saturday afternoon.  The three stared at the girls.  They each carried at least three or four shopping bags full to the brim.  Although Celia had taken them shopping right after they came for casual wear, the two held more clothes in their arms than Mia could imagine what to do with.  

The two struggled down the hall with their packages.  Behind them trailed Alex and Michelle, each carrying the same amount of bags.    The four disappeared into Margot's room and shut the door.  A moment later, Michelle popped back out the door and ran downstairs at a near gallop.  As she came back upstairs, Serena in tow, both laden with bags and a pair of scissors, Mia couldn't handle the suspense any more.  "What's all the stuff for?"

Serena smiled.  "You'll see."  With that she disappeared behind the door.

***

Margot and Julie surveyed the mess strewn carefully across their room.  Across Margot's bed lay dresses of all colors, each with matching shoes and a couple cases of jewelry.  Across one of the canopy bed's rails were hung pairs of hangers, each pair complete with a pair of pants, shirt, and blazers or sweaters.  A jumble of shoes covered the floor around the bed.  In the bathroom, a mass of hair things were spread out across the counter.

"Alright, here's the deal.  Alex and Darien and Julie are in charge of the guys.  All this stuff has to be taken over into the empty rooms across the hall and then we have to get the guys in there.  Serena, Michelle and I will take the girls in here.  We have to get finished by five thirty in order to get to the restaurant on time.  Michelle and Alex need to get ready by that time too.  So we got a lot of work to do and very little time to do it all in!  So, I suggest we start with the hardest subjects first," Margot said as she surveyed the room.  "That means the first one is . . ."

***

"Oh Mia, could you come here for a second and give me a hand with something in here?"  Mia turned to see Margot's head pop out the door.  She smiled sweetly at the girl on the couch.  Mia nodded.  She rose and walked over to the room. 

"What do you need Margot?"  Margot smiled at the girl and grabbed her wrist, yanking her into the room.  Kento and Rowen stared as Mia disappeared and the door slammed shut behind her.

"I wonder what's going on in there?"

***

Mia screeched as Michelle helped hold the girl down in the chair.  For such a delicate girl, Michelle was very strong.  Mia's long wet hair hung down her neck and back as she tried to push out of the chair in the bathroom.  

Margot smiled.  "Now Mia, if you would simply hold still, I may be able to save most of your hair.  But if you keep squirming, I swear the haircut is gonna look pretty weird."  Mia struggled again.  "Don't even think about touching my hair with those things.  I wouldn't trust you with those things even if it was paper you were cutting."  

Margot smiled.  "I'm actually very good at this.  Just trust me.  And Michelle here is also amazing with hair.  So just trust me.  I am gonna make you look gorgeous."  The scissors ducked in and Mia watched as a long strand of hair fell to the ground.  Her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted dead away.  

Margot looked at the unconscious girl and shrugged good-naturedly.  "Oh well, what she doesn't know can't hurt her!"  The scissors descended again.

***

Across the hall, Julie looked around.  She smiled at Alex and Darien.  "You two ready for this?"  The two glanced at each other and grinned.  This was going to be fun.  Julie poked her head out the door.  "Rowen, can I talk to you for a second?  I have something I want to talk to you about."  Rowen glanced at her in puzzlement.  He got up and walked towards the room.  

"Yeah Julie?"  She gestured and he moved into the room.  Automatically he found himself flying through the air.  He landed on the floor.  

As he lay recovering his breath, he heard the door click as a key turned the tumblers.  He rolled over to see Julie flanked by Darien and Alex, both grinning wickedly.

"What the heck is going on?"  Rowen asked.

"Rowen, I have something I need you to do.  It's all very simple."  She walked over and opened the closet doors to retrieve an outfit and a pair of shoes.

"What's going on Julie?  What are those clothes for and why am I in here and what are Darien and Alex doing here too?"  The girl smiled at Rowen's queries.

"It's all very simple, Rowen.  I will tell you the answers . . . after you strip!"

"What????"

***

Down the hall, Kento heard the muffled thumps and bangs coming from the room Rowen had disappeared into.  He waited for a while.  After about twenty minutes, the noise stopped and then there was a muffled yelp from the room.  

Kento's curiosity got the best of him.  

He walked down the hall carefully and knocked on the door.  There was a muffled yell and then silence prevailed.  Moments later, the lock clicked and the door swung open.  Julie smiled up at Kento.  "Oh Kento, just who I was looking for!  Come on in!"

"What's going on in there Julie?  It sounds like a battlefield," Kento said as he strolled into the room.  Julie was closing the door behind him when he saw Rowen.  Rowen was tied down to a chair with what looked like strips of sheeting and he had a gag stuffed in his mouth.  

The door clicked shut and the lock slid in place behind him.  Dumbfounded, Kento watched as Julie strolled across the room and removed an outfit from the closet.  She held it up.

"Here you go Kento.  Be a good boy and go put these on for me!"  Julie said coaxingly.  Kento gaped at the clothes.  

"But Julie, these aren't mine."

"Well, now they are, so you better hurry up and change.  Don't make me use Darien and Alex on you.  Just be nice and put the clothes on."  She grinned wickedly.

***

About a half-hour after Mia had disappeared into the room across the hall, Serena popped out.  She scanned the area, but no one was around.  She smiled and headed upstairs for Ami's room.  Ami was sitting in her large comfy chair, reading a book.  Serena smiled.  This would be easy.  

"Oh, Ami, can you come downstairs.  I think Margot was looking for you."  Ami put her book down, trailing after Serena down the stairs.  She knocked and the door opened, Serena slipped into the room, Ami's wrist firmly in hand so the girl had to come along too.  The door closed and clicked ominously.  Margot smiled a little too sweetly at Ami.

"Hi Ami!  I was just looking for you.  I had something I wanted you to try on for me.  I found this outfit at the store and I knew it was just so you."  Ami smiled puzzledly.  

"Sure Margot."  Margot smiled back delightedly.  She gestured to the outfit on the bed.  "Can you put that on, Ami?  I need to go see something in Julie's room for a moment.  Serena will help you."  With that, Margot disappeared through the bathroom.  

Ami heard Mia screech from the other room as Margot darted through the other door into Julie's room.  All of a sudden she wasn't so sure anymore.  She turned to Serena.

"What is going on here?  Don't tell me this is just an outfit Margot saw and decided was perfect for me.  Something is fishy around here."  Serena smiled.  

"Oh Ami, I suggest you just get undressed.  Things will go easier that way."

***

Ryo was easy to track down.  Whether or not he would be easy to deal with was another story.  He was just coming up the stairs when Julie poked her head around the door.   She smiled.  Save for Rowen, this had been an easy endeavor.  She crossed her fingers.  Better hope that it continued as such.  She smiled.  "Oh, Ryo," Julie said in a singsong voice, "Can you help me change the light in here?  I think I broke it, but I'm just too short to reach the light outlet."

Ryo smiled and began to amble towards the room.  "How on earth did you manage to break one of the light bulbs?"  Julie smiled.  Ah, the damsel in distress worked every single time.  She smiled at him and gave him a bewildered look.  "I really don't know.  One minute I flipped the switch on and then, bam!"  She moved into the room ahead of Ryo.  He walked in and went directly to the light switch.  He flipped it up and down a few times.  The light worked perfectly.  Ryo turned around to see the door shut behind him and Julie was pulling something out of the closet.

"Julie, I don't get it.  The light seems to work fine.  What's going on?  Is it the closet light?"  Julie smiled.  "Ryo, I must say that for the leader of the Ronin Warriors, you are surprisingly gullible.  The light is fine.  You will not be, however, unless you change into this outfit.  Immediately."  Ryo stared the girl.  

"Yeah right.  What the heck is going on here?  I am not wearing that."

"Oh yes you are.  You won't leave this room until then."  Ryo snickered.  

"Who's going to stop me?  You and what army?"  Julie gestured to the door that connected the bathrooms.  "This army."

Ryo stared as the door popped open and Darien and Alex entered the room.   He stared at the two of them.  Alex smiled menacingly and Ryo gulped.  "You play dirty Julie."  She smiled sweetly at him.

"I learned from the best!"

***

The rest of the afternoon went pretty well.  Raye and Lita put up little protest and Mina was happy to put on the outfit they had chosen for her.  Cye and Sage were both open to the idea, especially due to the fact that with the added threat of being manhandled by Julie's helpers, they were totally willing.  Pretty soon, Michelle and Alex had rejoined the group; both dressed for a night on the town.  Michelle looked pretty, her hair loose and sprinkled lightly with fairy glitter.  She wore a soft aqua dress that shone with silver in the light.  Alex looked dashing in a blue suit with a muted gold shirt.  Celia and Heather had by then joined the group to see the results of the afternoon's trials.

Cye and Sage came out first.  Cye looked so adorable with his hair smoothed out and shining above his sea green eyes.  In tan slacks, a white button-up shirt and a light blue blazer, he looked elegant while still keeping the air of casual that Margot and Julie had strived for in clothing choice.  Sage's hair still covered one eye, despite Julie's protests.  He himself was attired in olive green slacks and a white polo.  Over one arm, he had draped a cardigan that was in dark violet, lavender, and green.  Sage adamantly refused to wear it.  Julie figured that since he had been such a good sport about the rest, she would let it slide.

Kento was only slightly behind the two, grinning his head off as he pulled a very unwilling Rowen along.  Kento's outfit was simple and nice, with black pants and a white shirt topped by a nice dark orange blazer.  Rowen's hair had been smoothed back and somewhat tamed.  Its blue tone matched the shirt he wore under a navy sweater that matched his pants.   He looked grudgingly around and tried to run one hand through his hair, but stopped as he remembered the dire threats Julie had given him if he dared mess up his now neat hair.  The last to emerge was Ryo, followed by a smiling Darien.  Everyone turned and stared.  With his hair all smooth and shiny and his outfit, Ryo looked, well . . . pretty darn handsome.  Dressed in black pants, a black blazer and a white shirt, the only things that stood out were his bright eyes and the single red rose bud Julie had pinned in the buttonhole of his lapel.

Mina was the first to emerge from the girls' rooms, smiling brightly and showing off her new outfit to the full advantage.  Her hair shone as it hung down her back in a French braid.  She wore a long violet tunic and a violet sarong, threaded lightly with dark blue and red.  In her ears were a pair of heart shaped amethyst earrings that matched the pendant around her neck.  She twirled and her skirt flared to show off the simple violet sandals she wore.  She smiled and blew a kiss at the crowd.  Lita followed, a little more self conscious in her off the shoulder blouse of light brown and the matching brown, light green and yellow plaid skirt.  She wore flats that matched and had looped her hair up into a bun on top of her head.  Around one wrist and her neck were a pair of silver and pink charm bracelets, each charm a rose like the ones she wore in her ears.

Following her, with Ami being towed along by one arm, was Raye.  Her hair was pulled up high on her head, but strands escaped to frame her face.  She wore a loose silver blouse and a full royal blue skirt that swished around her ankles.  Ami's hair had been fixed back away from her face with glittering bobby pins and matching the fragile leaf shaped peridot jewelry around her neck, wrists and in her ears.  She wore a straight dark green skirt paired with a sleeveless light green blouse.  She blushed and Raye and Ami moved to stand over on one side.

Last to emerge, of course, was a loudly protesting Mia.  Everyone's mouths hit the floor.  Mia's long, beautiful hair had been cut.   Strands now framed her face and created a pixie-style around her face. From the crown of her head, the rest of her hair fell in light curls, layered to fall in a mass of tamed curls around her shoulders and down her back, as if to frame her dress.  And what a dress!  The strapless red gown fit snugly all the way down to Mia's waist, where it flared slightly to create a full skirt, stopping just before her ankles.  It left all of Mia's shoulders and much of her back bare.  Margot and Julie smiled as they watched Ryo try to dislodge the lump now stuck in his throat, his eyes never leaving Mia's body.  

In fact, it seemed that each of the Ronin Warriors had the same problem.  If they had known that getting dressed up would result seeing the visions in front of them, they wouldn't have put up as much of a fight.  The girls found themselves staring at the Ronin Warriors.  They were never aware that the guys could look THAT good.  All in all, the total effect had left everyone in awe, totally speechless and breathless.

Margot, Julie, Serena and Darien hurried the group downstairs and out into the waiting limos.  With little ado, each group was on their way, with Michelle and Alex to make sure that the plan went fine.  The two girls smiled as they watched the two limos roll off down the street.

"Well, now what?" asked Julie.  "Celia and Heather have gone out and so that just leaves the four of us."

"Food!  I need food!"  Margot said, clutching her stomach as if she were going to die from starvation at any moment.  "You know, with all the shopping and fussing and all that, we haven't eaten since about 8:00 this morning!!!"

Serena smiled.  "You know, I think that's a great idea.  Let's go grab some burgers and celebrate!"

**********

Ok, obviously, this is not the interlude.  The interlude is delayed indefinitely right now, due to the fact that I'm in the middle of midterm week.  So, with a take-home midterm for my education class that is five essays, all needing citations, and an Art History exam (for which I must memorize countless names and dates), plus a rewrite of a paper and an article summary and voice lessons that need practicing for and a concert . . . the list goes on, my friends.  So, hopefully, when life goes back to the semi-normal routine, you will find the new interlude jammed between this chapter and the last at some point in time.  Until then, I put this chapter up as appeasement! : )  Ok, cross your fingers for me and I'll update most likely sometime next week after my birthday!  ~DestinyBabe


	7. Destiny and Fate Make the Scene

Ok!  Hi all – I just wanted to clear somethings up right here - implies mental thought, _italics_ represent telepathic speech between characters.

Part 6: Destiny and Fate Make the Scene

Michelle smiled as she watched the couples below from her balcony seat.  "The nice thing about this restaurant is the way that one couple can seem totally alone and yet we can watch over all of the little groups so nothing can really interfere."  

She and Alex were seated up on a wide terrace balcony that overlooked the stylish restaurant's main room.  From her seat up there, she could see Ryo and Mia, tucked back in one corner of the room.  The two were eying each other nervously and not speaking.  Separated by trees and rocks, Ami and Rowen were seated a little further along the wall.  Even from here, Michelle could see that the two were arguing something.  She sighed.  They were probably talking about some theory or other.  

On the facing wall sat Mina and Cye.  Mina was quickly working her way though her second drink and Cye looked very intrigued by a spot on the tablecloth.  Raye and Sage at another table were calmly talking and eating calmly.  Kento and Lita looked about ready to start and arm-wrestling contest.  Because the two were directly below Michelle, she could hear the conversation.  She giggled as Lita complained that the food wasn't that good.  Kento barely stopped shoveling it in his mouth to complain.  

Michelle smiled at Alex and took a sip from the champagne she held.  The tiny bubbles tickled and she giggled at the feeling.  Alex was staring intently at Michelle's face and she shifted nervously.  With one hand, Alex leaned across the table and captured Michelle's empty hand.  Lifting it to her lips, she smiled at her partner, whose blush spread upwards to the roots of her blue-green hair.  

In the far background above the soft chatter, she could hear the sounds of a piano start up and a moment later, a violin rose to accompany it.  The quiet sonata was very familiar and Alex sighed as the memories swept over her.

"You remember this one?"  Michelle smiled.  

"How could I forget our first piece together?  That was one of the most important moment of my life when we first performed that piece."  Alex gave Michelle a tiny half-smile.  

"I miss the way we used to practice together and do concerts.  I miss the days when we were just the two of us."

"Oh Alex, we haven't lost those days.  It's just that now there is so much more for us to do.  We have so much more to do now.  Back then, the only thing that mattered was each other and music.  But now we have the rest of the group.  We have more friends and family then we have ever had in our lives and it isn't so lonely.  We have a purpose.  We have to protect the princesses and fight for everyone's future.  And I promise that when we have achieved that future, the first thing I will do is sit down with you and play again."  Alex smiled.  

"You're right.  Let's not worry about the past or the future.  Let's just enjoy now."  Michelle had just reached for her fork when the screams erupted from outside the building.  

As people all around the room stood up, a large telephone pole piece shattered the window.  Glass flew, and Ryo and Mia, who were seated closest to the window, dove behind their table.  From outside they could now see the three or four large monsters draining people's energy.  But with the restaurant so full of people, there was no possible way for the group to transform.  They watched helplessly, hoping that Serena and Darien would show up soon.

***  
Across the park, Serena, Darien, Margot, and Julie were sitting around finishing up the last of their French fries.  The four laughed happily as they speculated what might be happening in the restaurant.  Suddenly, Serena sat up straight.

"Monster attack.  Somewhere downtown there are a bunch of monsters.  We gotta go.  They're quickly creating havoc.  This could get dangerous.  Margot, Julie, maybe you ought to go home."  The two girls shook their heads determinedly.  Without another word, the four started running across town.  

The monsters downtown were at work when the four arrived.  About seven or eight feet tall, each monster had a set of about five or six tentacles, each of which was busy draining a person.  One large purple monster was about to enter the restaurant that the four recognized as the restaurant they had sent the couples to.  Serena and Darien hurried to transform into their sub-armor and follow the monsters into the restaurant.  Before Serena entered she turned to look behind her.  

"Stay here both of you.  I can't risk you getting hurt if something goes wrong."  Margot and Julie glanced at each other with a "yeah right" look on their faces and followed Serena anyhow.  Inside the restaurant was a mess.  Tables were overturned all over the place and broken glass and China littered the floor.  Ryo and Mia were pressed up against the wall, Ryo in front of Mia protectively.  The two girls glanced around and felt the rage begin to boil up inside of them.  

Serena and Darien had just started to face off against the four monsters now grouped in the middle of the room when a pair of enraged voices caught their attention.

"How dare you wreck our beautiful plan?" Julie asked angrily.

"You guys are so deader than dead," Margot forced out through gritted teeth.  Serena and Darien gaped as two signs flashed across the girls' foreheads.  In bright blue green across Margot's forehead was the Japanese symbol for fire shone brightly and across Julie's forehead in burgundy was the symbol of wind.

"Holy…" Mia started to say and then stopped as she pulled Ryo down behind the cover of the table.  Across the room, Darien and Serena dove for cover as they realized with awe and fear what precisely those symbols meant.  The rest of the people followed their examples as the two girls began glowing menacingly.  Even the monsters looked like they wanted to find a hole in the floor to crawl in.  With a huge flash of dark blue green and burgundy, the two girls stood there in armor like the Universal Warriors'.  

Where the Mystical Warriors' sub-armor was white, Margot's shone with gold and Julie's was a soft copper.  Against the dark blue green of the armor and sub-armor, the gold of Margot's shone bright, while Julie's burgundy set off the copper with a soft glow.  In one hand, Julie held a staff just as tall as her eyes.  On the cap of the staff stood a falcon, wings spread as if in flight, its glowing eyes a pair of garnets imbedded in the copper.  Margot held in both hands a double-edged sword, the hilt engraved with a dragon, the tail wrapping around the blade to create a grip.  "FIRE OF…"

"WINDS OF…"  Flames leapt up from the ground, racing up Margot's body and down her outstretched hands until it reached the sword, gathering together near the edge.  Similarly, wind leapt up around Julie's staff, gathering around the cap of the staff, where the falcon's wings seemed to be flying now.  "DESTINY!"

"FATE!"  With a roar, the flames shot off the sword, hurtling across the room as likewise, the wind rushed towards the monsters.  The attacks combined partway there and with a loud crash, the combined air and fire slammed into the monsters and they disintegrated instantly.  

Pieces of flaming debris flew across the room, still buffeted by the typhoon strength winds.  As the wind and flames died down, people began to peer out from behind the tables and chairs.  Mia moved away from behind the tables and surveyed the scene.  "Holy…"

"Cow," Ryo finished as he joined her.  The place looked like it had been barbequed and then torn apart.  Great big charred sections of the carpet were pulled up and thrown everywhere across the area.  Plants, chairs, and other small things had been thrown by the wind to lie in piles against overturned tables.  Surprisingly enough, not one person had been hurt in the chaos that had ensued.  The other people emerged from under tables and behind rock walls and fled towards the entrances.  

Mia smiled.  "Well, that wasn't quite the word I would have used, but it definitely is a lot cleaner."  In the center of the room, Margot and Julie still stood, weapons pointed at the most charred section of the carpet where the monsters had previously stood.  Totally unaware of the chaos around them, the two were trapped inside of their memories, things from their past lives.  Scenes flashed through their minds and slowly the two began to get an understanding of who they were and why they were now here.  

Slowly, they two girls came back to the world to see their friends now gathered around them, staring at them in awe and surprise and confusion.

***

Somehow, Serena herded the whole group out of the building and back to Celia's house, where they all convened in Margot's room.  It was a rather funny sight actually, with all fourteen people, excluding Margot and Julie who were sitting on her bed, crammed into the room and sprawled all over the place.  Not that the room was small.  Merely crowded, Margot thought as she claimed a spot on her bed next to Julie.  She smoothed her hand over the dark blue-green bedspread and smiled at the irony of the color.  It completely matched her armor, down to the same shade of gold from the sub-armor that was like the gold threads that were running through the sheets.  

Ryo led the inquisition, along with Kento and Rowen.

"What they heck is going here?" Ryo asked, sounding slightly irritated at the lack of knowledge, "Who the heck are you two really and where did that armor come from?"  Mia and Darien shared a small smile and Mia answered before Julie or Margot could speak.

"Those are the armors of Destiny and Fate, two of the most powerful armors in the Universe," Mia explained.  Mina piped up from across the room.

"But I thought that the Universal armors were connected to the royalty of each planet," Mina said, her brow crinkled in confusion.  Serena smiled.

"That's right Mina.  The armors of Destiny and Fate are the…"  At that moment, a burst of light filled the room.  As the light cleared, there was a shriek from Margot and Julie and the rest of the Universal Warriors sprang into position.

"DADDY!" came the joyous cry from the two girls.  The warriors looked to see the two girls now enfolded in a hug from a man who hadn't been standing there a moment ago.  They blinked and gaped.  The two girls were hugging whom they knew to be Apollo, god of the sun.  

According to legends, Apollo was unable to be touched by mortals, because he would burn them to cinders.  The only people able to touch him were his wife and soulmate…and his daughters.  Ryo, Cye, Kento, Sage, Rowen, Ami, Mina, and Lita gaped at the two girls now hanging from the sun god's neck.  Raye smiled as she now understood the vision she had had in the flames all those months ago.  Rowen stuttered, his mouth totally agape.

"What the… How can you touch him and not turn into dust?"  Rowen thought he knew what the answer was going to be and he didn't like it one bit.  Apollo looked over at the confused boy and smiled as he tried to detangle the clinging arms from his neck before he was strangled.

"I thought that would be obvious.  These are my kids."

"WHAT!" came the collective reaction.  Margot smiled.

"Yes, I am Princess Margot of the sun and this is my sister Julie!"

"You mean you two are related?  Sisters?" Kento spluttered out.  This was like a nightmare come true; these two mischievous girls, although he may love the two of them dearly, were sisters and that frightened him to no end.  Julie smiled smugly at Kento.

"Twins!" she exclaimed.  Kento only groaned.  That was even worse.  Margot looked at her twin with superiority gleaming in her eyes.

"Yes, but I happen to be five minutes and forty-two seconds older."

"Oh big whoop-de-do," Julie said mundanely, waving her finger in the air, "A whole five minutes and forty-two seconds.  Let's give you a medal."  Margot smiled brightly, her whole being radiating with arrogance.

"Thank you," she said smugly.  Julie looked steamed at Margot's flippant answer.  Lita stepped forward.

"You mean, you two are the twin princesses of the sun?"  Margot smiled.

"Yup, and one day, I will be the queen of the Universe!"  Julie reached out and smacked Margot on the head.

"No need to rub it in," Julie scolded, "After all, it's just because you're older that you get to rule the sun and the Universe."

"Ouch Julie, that hurt!" Margot whined, rubbing the hurt spot of her head.

"Serves you right for acting so arrogant," Julie said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I didn't mean to.  It just slipped out!"

"Girls…" Apollo said loudly in an annoyed tone, "I would like to finish this sometime this decade."  Two contrite faces turned to look at him.

"Sorry Daddy."  Kento glared at the two.

"You mean this whole time, you have known this and you never told us?"

"Not really," Margot said, "See, until we got angry and transformed, we didn't know the armors existed and until we got the armor, we didn't have any memories.  So we had no idea until about a half an hour ago."

"What memories?" Ami asked.

"Well, you see, we lived back in the Silver Millennium along with you guys, although most of you were three years older.  Serena was the only girl our age.  We lived on the Sun and died during the assault on the solar system just like everyone else.  It was after the planets got rearranged, but before the Moon Kingdom was destroyed," Margot explained blithely.  Apollo glared at his oldest daughter.

"Margot, there are some things you know that you are NOT allowed to talk about.  So please, don't let out any more about the past until I have explained everything.  And since I know you two can now see into the future, not to mention all the things you may have seen in the other world.  If I hear one peep of the future being let out…" he drifted off menacingly and fingered the tall and spiky gold, silver, and copper staff he carried.  The two girls gulped and eyed the staff warily.

"We promise Daddy!  Don't hit us with the sun staff, please.  We promise we'll be good!  No past facts or future slip-ups!" Margot cried.  She then stopped and stared at the tall twisted staff.  "Wait a minute.  Didn't I design that thing?"  Apollo glared at her.

"Yes Margot, you did.  You remember a lot of things.  Both of your memories have been coming back over time slowly, which is why you drew the staff design.  You think I didn't know about that, did you?  I know everything about the two of you, at least until you transferred between worlds.  So, be warned, I am keeping an eye on you two."  Turning to face the rest of the group, he began to explain.  

"Anyway, the Sun Kingdom was ruling over the Universe.  Margot and Julie were the youngest two out of you all.  When Metallia tried to take over the Universe, she sent Beryl to conquer the Earth with Talpa and the Generals to take over the other planets while she herself tried to take over the Sun.  There were three battles, one in which the Earth was lost, the next when the Moon fell, and lastly, the one where the Sun was attacked.  

"During the battle on the Moon, everyone on the Moon died.  Julie and Margot were not there and, therefore, could not try to save you.  They knew that you would die, but they could not stop you.  They died protecting the Sun and myself from Metallia.  Literally, they bashed me unconscious with my staff, took my power stone, and defeated Metallia themselves.  But they died in the process from using too much power."  Apollo stopped and drew in a breath.  "That's about all you really need to know now.  I know that a few of you know more, but there is only a certain amount that those who have not regained all of their memories should know."  

Margot and Julie shuddered as they thought about the horrible battles and the pain and agony of watching each of their friends die.  _That was such a horrible time_, Margot thought.

_I agree.  That was so not fun.  The only thing I am proud of is that we saved the Sun and Daddy from the same fate as the Moon,_ Julie replied mentally, not realizing that Margot hadn't opened her mouth.  As the two girls realized what has just happened, they looked at each other in surprise.  Did they really just mentally communicate?  

Apollo looked over at his two children.  _And that's the other thing.  You two are not to tell them about the telepathic link.  Don't argue with me; that's just the way it has to be.  If you two tell them that, eventually, who knows what the two of you and your loose lips could spill?_  Margot and Julie glared at him, but silently nodded in agreement.  This having a father thing was really hard!  Suddenly, Margot thought of something and she turned to her father.  

"Dad, what happened to our little sister?  I don't remember her name right now, but where is she?  And who is she?"  Apollo only smiled as Julie nodded in agreement at Margot's question; she wanted to know too.

"You mean the Warrior of Prophecy?  Well, the only thing I can tell you is that she is someone who is close to you; I can't tell you anything more.  I'll let you think about that for a while and see if you figure it out.  You two are smart girls; I'm sure you'll remember eventually."  Julie and Margot looked physically perturbed by that answer.  Apollo smiled at the dissatisfied looks and stood up.

"I must return to the Sun now.  I had to make certain that the girls were okay, but now that I know they are, I have to go."  With no further ado, he disappeared from the room with a small flash.  Mina spoke up.

"Wow, that was the most interesting meeting I've ever had.  So, now we know the Sun King.  Won't Celia be upset that she missed this?"  Julie grinned tiredly.

"No, she knows him pretty well.  After all, Dad and Celia have both been alive since the Silver Millennium."  Margot sighed and flopped backwards onto her pillows.  "I am so tired.  I am going to sleep.  You people can do whatever you like, but I warn you, I throw pillows at people who disturb my sleep."  With that, she pulled her nightgown from under a pillow and disappeared into the bathroom to change.  The group slowly left the room, still talking about the events of the day.  Sage grumbled.

"I still can't believe that those two menaces to society are the princess of the Sun and Margot will be queen of the Universe one day."  Raye laid a hand on his shoulder. 

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it.  After all, we accepted the fact that Serena will be a queen one day.  And that was a hard lump to swallow."  Serena turned to Raye, her face absolutely livid.

"Hey, that's not nice!" Serena yelled at Raye, who only sweetly smiled at her best friend.  The door shut behind the large group, but Julie could still hear the squabbles of the two as they walked down the hallway.  She honestly didn't know whether to be amused or hurt at the fact that the Universal Warriors were having such a hard time accepting who they really were.  

Margot entered the room, hair braided and face washed.  She sat down on the bed across from Julie.

"Well, this has been quite a day.  I mean, would you have ever believed that we could be twins?"  Julie smiled.

"Explains how similar we are.  But, the truth is, I never thought any of this could be real in my wildest dreams."

"Dad sure mad it tough on us, putting those restrictions on and everything," Margot grumbled.  Julie yawned before responding.

"Yeah, he was really mean about it all.  But, I'm too tired to care.  I'm going to bed too.  Good night!"

"Good night Julie," Margot said as Julie wandered into her room through the bathroom to get ready for bed.  Within minutes of climbing into bed, both girls were asleep.  In the darkened rooms, the small flash of light was hardly noticed by the two sleeping girls.  Julie murmured restlessly as Apollo brushed a kiss across her forehead and whispered good night to her.  Margot snuggled deeper into the covers and sighed as he kissed her also.  He stood back and stared at the sleeping girl.

"I'm so glad I found you two.  Now at least I know you'll always be within my sight.  Sleep well my angels, and this time around, no bashing me unconscious with my own staff.  I love you and all, but that hurt last time!"

***************

Hey all!  So, really, how many people thought that Margot and Julie would stay civilian throughout all four remaining books?  And yes, it's a bit cliché to have them come from the sun, but, you know, as long as its not overdone, it can work.  So, constructive criticisms are good, but flaming this honestly won't do you any good.  

CTRNikki – glad you like the haircut.  I take personal claim on that idea.  We had an interlude somewhere where we burned all her thigh-high socks too – frankly, socks and shorts don't work together when they're thigh-highs!

Thescientist – thanks for the review and the luck.  Obviously, I have survived.  The only thing keeping me going was the thought of birthday cake today!

Ninmast – of course we play dirty.  It makes it some much more fun! : )

Ok, I'm gonna go eat another big piece of my birthday cake and then work on the interlude some more!  Have a great day everyone! ~DestinyBabe


	8. Friends Go Missing

Part 7: Friends Go Missing

-November 26th, 1999-

Queen Metallia sat in her palace in the Negaverse, extremely tense and extremely pissed off.  She was in her quarters, sitting in one of her lounge chairs, but she was sitting upright and stiff.  She was fed up with everything.  Those miserable warriors had managed to kill her favorite general, General Talpa, and had destroyed all of the minions she sent after them.  And their number kept getting bigger and bigger.  The arrival of the Fate and Destiny warriors had been enough for her.  Those two girls were proving to be a nuisance equally as annoying as the rest of those insufferable Warriors.  Metallia wished she could just get rid of the lot of them, but her powers weren't, as of then, strong enough to face all of them at once.  She would have to derive a plan that would destroy them slowly, weaken them up before she fought them.  Once they were weakened down, they would be easier to destroy.  Cradling her golden treasure in her hand, her secret weapon for defeating the Universal Warriors, she called for one of her generals.  A few moments passed and Almandine walked in the room, her dark burgundy eyes radiating with superiority and arrogance.  

"Yes, my queen?  You summoned me?"

"Well, I didn't summon you specifically, but you'll have to do," Metallia said.  "I have a mission for you.  Do you think you're able to do it?"

"I am able to do anything you ask of me, Queen Metallia."

Metallia smiled wickedly, her tongue running over her lips.  "Good, good," she muttered.  "Almandine," she said, "I want you to devise a plan that will start the destruction of the Universal Warriors.  Nothing big, but enough to weaken them slowly over time.  Those are your orders.  Now leave me."  Almandine smiled and bowed deeply.

"Your wish is my command, my Queen."  She exited the large chambers, leaving Metallia by herself with her most precious object.  Holding the golden object in her hands, she held it up to look at.  "You, my lovely, are going to be the thing that destroys the Universal Warriors.  They won't know what hit them."  Metallia laughed slightly as she thought of the day when she would rule the universe, a day Metallia thought should have come 1000 years ago.

***  
-November 27th, 1999-

The sound of the slamming of the front door alarmed everybody as they sat down to eat breakfast one Saturday morning.  The whole house was present, except for Serena who had spent the night at Molly's house the night before.  It was obvious to everyone that the person who stormed in the house was the one and only Serena Tsukino.  "I wonder what's wrong with Serena?" Mina asked right before Serena burst into the room.  The Universal Warriors all turned to look at Serena.  She had tears in her eyes and tear streaks on her cheeks.  Her hair was a mess and she was all disheveled.  Darien was the first one to reach her, pulling her into his arms and holding her close to him.  The moment Darien's arms wrapped around Serena, she started sobbing uncontrollably.  Darien looked miserable as he stood there, holding his true love.  He couldn't stand seeing her in the state she was in; it broke his heart and he would do anything to make the pain go away.  He picked up Serena and walked over to the chair he was just occupying, sitting down on it with Serena situated in his lap.  The rest of the Universal Warrior gathered around Darien and Serena.  Ryo was standing directly to the side of Darien, his hand on Serena's shoulder, caressing it comfortingly.  He was letting her know that he was there for her if she ever wanted to talk to him.  Serena could only continue to sob.  Everyone stood around Darien and Serena, offering her their strength and sending their hearts out to her.  They hated to see their esteemed leader so emotionally distraught.  Eventually, Serena had calmed down enough to stop crying and Michelle left the room briefly, returning a few minutes later with a box of tissues.  She made her way through the small crowd to where Serena was and held out the box to her.  "Thanks," Serena said as she took a few tissues from the box.  After blowing her nose and wiping her tears off her face, she began explaining what happened; no one needed to ask her.  She knew that they all wanted to know.  "Last night, as you guys know, I was at Molly's house, spending the night.  We had fun.  We watched movies and ate so much pizza, I felt like I was going to explode.  We fell asleep around 2 in the morning.  I figured everything was fine.  And then I woke up this morning."  Serena paused and took a deep breath before saying her next words.  "When I woke up, Molly was gone, vanished.  Like she had fallen off of the face of the planet.  There was no note, no nothing that would indicate she had left.  It's like she disappeared while in her bed.  The only conclusion that I can come to is that she was kidnapped in the middle of the night and I didn't sense anything.  I'm supposed to protect my friends, not let them get kidnapped."  The phone suddenly rang, interrupting Serena's story.  Lita ran to get it.  "Hello?" she said into the receiver as she picked up the phone that was sitting on a small table right outside the dining room.  There was a silence as the person responded.  Whatever the person said must have been pretty bad because Lita turned white as a ghost and said, "I think you should tell her yourself."  Taking the phone away from her ear, she walked into the dining room, still holding the portable phone, and handed it to Ami.  "Here Ami, the phone's for you."  Ami gulped and took the phone from Lita.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

"Hi Ami, it's Stacey, Greg's mom.  I'm afraid I have some bad news for you."

"What's that?"

"Greg's been kidnapped.  He disappeared early this morning without a trace.  The police think he was kidnapped.  I'm sorry to have to tell you this."

"No, thank you for telling me," Ami said in a state of shock.  She hadn't seen Greg for 2 years, right before he moved to the states with his family.  Aside from the occasional e-mails and phone calls, she rarely heard from him, but that didn't mean he still wasn't a close friend of hers.

"I'm sorry for bothering you," Stacey said, "I'll let you go now."

"Ok.  And I'm sorry for what's happened.  I'm sure everything will be alright."

"Ok, you take care Ami."

"You too."  Ami hung up the phone, tears coming to her eyes as everything hit her.  Dropping the phone on the ground, she ran out of the room, crying.  Rowen wanted to go after her, but he hesitated.  He didn't know what was wrong, but Ami needed some time to sort things out.  When she was ready, she would come to him.  Mina looked at Lita, whose face was full of sorrow, and she said, "Who was that Lita?  What did they say?"  Lita turned to the group, tearing her eyes from the direction that Ami ran off to, and looked at the group regretfully.  "That's was Greg's mom.  It turns out that Greg was also kidnapped, disappeared without a trace."  With that news, Rowen, although he grieved with Ami, felt a twinge of jealousy.  He had heard about Ami's ex-boyfriend and although they were only friends now and had half of the world in between them, Rowen was jealous that Greg had had what Rowen hadn't: Ami's full love.  Upon hearing that, he stormed out of the room without a word, leaving everyone wondering what his problem was.  Margot and Julie left the room and went and sat down on the stairs, both of them burying their heads in their hands.  They couldn't believe that all of it was happening them.  They knew it was probably going to happen, but they hoped it wouldn't.  Well, it turned out that it was happening.  _What do we do now?_ Julie asked Margot through their telepathic link.

_I don't know Julie, I really don't know._  The two girls just looked at each other sorrowfully before heading upstairs.

***  
Dinner that evening was surprisingly quiet.  Serena and Ami were missing from the table and the rest of table was silent as they ate.  Darien shifted in his seat uncomfortably.  He had something to tell everyone and was a little reluctant to do so with the news of Molly and Greg disappearing.  After battling within himself about what to say, Darien decided to tell everybody; they needed to know.  Darien cleared his throat, which brought him to everybody's attention.  They all looked at Darien and someone spoke.  "Is something wrong Darien?" Cye asked from his spot beside Mina.  Darien nodded solemnly.

"I have something to tell all of you guys."  The whole group, with the exception of Celia, Margot and Julie because they already knew what he was going to say, waited with anticipation as Darien paused to collect himself.  Darien's eyes glanced over everybody, his eyes filling with tears.  "I went down to the arcade today to visit Andrew and talk to him about Serena, maybe get advice on how to help her.  But, I found Lizzy instead and she told me that Andrew has disappeared, just like Greg and Molly."  The whole group was shocked, but Mina was beside herself.

"What?" she breathed, not believing it.

"I'm sorry, Mina, but he's gone, like he's vanished without a trace."  Mina slumped in her chair, tears silently running down her cheeks.  Cye put his arm around her and pulled her close to him in a hug; she needed him right now.  Cye had met Andrew and found him to be a great person; he was one of the only people who Mina would talk to and he had helped her in the past, something Cye was grateful for.  He knew there was no romantic interest between the two; Andrew had a girlfriend so Cye had no reason to be jealous of the older guy.  The room became silent again with the exception of the sound of Mina's soft sobs.  The phone rang once again, breaking everybody out of their thoughts.  Heather stood up and ran out into the hallway where the portable phone was.  Walking back into the room, she answered it.  "Hello?  Yeah, she's right here.  Hold on a moment."  Covering the mouthpiece, Heather moved the phone away from her ear and looked at Lita.  "Lita, it's for you."

"Oh," Lita said as she stood up and walked over to Heather, taking the phone from her hands.

"Hello?" Lita asked.

"Lita's, it's me, Ken's mom."

"Oh, hey Delilah, what's up?"

"I have some bad news for you honey."

"What is it?"

"Ken's gone.  We don't know where he is.  The police suspect kidnap, but there's no clues anywhere to prove anything.  I'm sorry to tell you this, but I thought you should know."  Lita could feel the tears rising in her throat.

"No, thanks for telling me.  Bye Delilah."  Lita hung up the phone and looked at it for a moment, a look of total shock on her face, before her face crumpled up with sadness and she started to cry.  She clenched her fist around the phone and threw it across the room.  It hit the wall and promptly shattered into pieces.  She ran from the room and Kento moved to go after her, but Celia stopped him.  "No, stay here," she said, "Ken was just kidnapped.  Let have some time alone."  Kento remained in his seat, his gaze fixed on the direction that Lita had run of in. His heart went out to her. He had met Ken a few times before and thought him to be a cool guy. He was happy that Lita had someone besides him who she could turn to, but now he was gone and Lita was grieving for his loss. Who knows when Ken will return? Or the other three for that matter. Kento finally faced forward, his face long and his appetite gone for the first time in a long time. The rest of the table was silent with melancholy. They were all thinking about the missing friends, wondering when and if they would all return. Suddenly, no one was very hungry for dinner anymore. Margot and Julie just looked at each other. They knew the 4 would return and they knew where they had been taken to. The only thing they didn't know and were worried about was whether or not Lita, Serena, Mina, and Ami would be able to survive until they got back. _Until we get them back, this house is going to be awfully sorrowful_, Julie said to Margot telepathically.   
_Yeah, I know what you mean. But, you know that this event is going to set everything else off. This is the real beginning. It all starts here. That is, if the girls can snap out of the depression they've gotten themselves. Otherwise, it will be the start of the end,_ Margot said back. Julie looked away from Margot and slumped back in her seat. Margot was right; this was the beginning and if the girls didn't get over their grief, it would be the beginning of the end. She looked back at Margot and said, _I have faith in the girls. Everything will work out alright._   
_I hope so,_ Margot said back before slowly eating her food again. The rest of dinner was silent and when it ended, Mia got up to do the dishes, with Darien's help, and the rest of the house went their own direction, wondering how everything was going to turn out and hoping that it would be alright.

*************

Hi all!  Another chapter! Sorry, I know updates have slowed down, but I'm trying to remain steady without resorting to a fixed day to update on.  Rather, I prefer to update a bit more randomly!  It keeps you all on your toes, right? : ) Anyhow, hope this "twist" gave you all a little surprise.  Obviously, we're starting to lead up to a big battle with Metallia, but there're still thirteen more parts before the end of book three, including epilogue.  And yes, I am still working on the interlude.  Its just that sleep is more important than writing right now.  On that note, I'm going to say goodnight and go indulge in the first full eight hours of sleep I've gotten this week, rather than the four to five that I have been getting.  Don't forget to tell me what you think, ok?  And in response to Ninmast and any other queries about beta-ing, I am more than willing to read your stories – when I find time – and review them for you.  But I have one small favor.  You have to email me, please, with requests and specific questions if you have them.  Other than that, remember that everyone gets flames (even FateChica and I) and so A. don't listen to them – you're better than you or they think, and B. be nice!  If you've gotten a flame, you know they're not fun, so be constructive, not cruel.  Alright, sorry to preach at you. : )  ~DestinyBabe


	9. Hospital Mayhem

Part 8: Hospital Mayhem

-December 10th, 1999-

"It's a really nice night for December, isn't it Ami?" Serena asked as she and her blue-haired friend walked down the street one early evening after school.

"Yes, it is.  I'm happy we decided to have this girls night out.  I think we all needed it," Ami said indicating to Raye, Lita, and Mina who were about half a block behind them.

"Yeah, it was good for us to get out.  It helped us take our minds off of things," Serena said.  There was no need to mention what "things" were.  The disappearance of Andrew, Molly, Ken, and Greg had deeply upset everybody, Serena, Lita, Ami and Mina most of all.  The conversation between Ami and Serena ceased and they continued to walk in a comfortable silence, the faint sounds of their friends' conversation coming from behind the two girls.  Not far from the two, one of Almandine's servants was on the prowl.  He was sent out by Almandine to find the Universal Warriors by tracking down their power signatures.  He searched, trying to find someone with the same power signature as the Universal Warriors and, finally, his search paid off.  Leaping off the top of a building and into an alley, he waited for the two he found to pass.  At the same moment, Ami and Serena were walking past the alleyway when they heard a deep voice.  "Stop right there," the deep voice said and both girls turned to see a monster with what looked like a machine gun that served as one of his arms.  He was huge, practically 7 feet tall, with bulging muscles that made him look even more gigantic than he even was.  Laughing cruelly, he raised his gun and let out two shots.  Ami and Serena couldn't move; they were frozen in place.  They couldn't believe what was happening.  Serena, at the last moment, turned around to shield Ami and got hit with both shots, once in the lower back and the other grazing her head.  She went down, unconscious immediately, blood pooling from the wound in her back.  Ami looked down in shock and horror at one of her best friends and was about to kneel down to help her when one more shot was fired, hitting Ami in the side.  Ami's hands went to her side, clutching the wound, as her eyes widened in surprise.  She looked down to see blood quickly soaking her light yellow shirt.  She had never seen so much blood before.  Her knees giving out, she collapsed to the ground next to Serena just as Lita, Mina, and Raye arrived at the scene.  The whole incident had taken place in the time frame of about 10 seconds.  The other three girls heard the shots from down the street and rushed to their best friends' sides where they saw the monsters.  Wordlessly, Mina knelt down on the ground and began tending to Ami and Serena, trying her best to stop the bleeding from the wounds.  Raye and Lita both transformed.  "Power of Lightning!  I call upon the armor of Lightning.  Armor of Lightning, TO ARMS!"

"Power of the Firebird!  I call upon the armor of the Firebird.  Armor of the Firebird, TO ARMS!"  Within seconds, Lita and Raye were ready to do battle, rage pumping through their veins.  This monster had hurt their friends and they were going to anything in their power to kill it.  Just as Raye and Lita were ready to start battle, other help arrived at the scene.

***  
-A half hour earlier-

Julie tried to ignore the sounds that were sounding on around her as she tried to read.  Trying to concentrate on words that were in a different language was hard enough without the sounds of two sparring matches being mediated, one between Ryo and Kento with just their bare hands and one between Margot and Darien with swords.  Julie preferred the sounds of just Kento and Ryo fighting to the ringing sounds of clashing swords.  Julie looked back down at her book, which was written in Japanese characters.  It still amazed her that she could read and speak Japanese, as could Margot.  It appeared that when Celia brought them over, their powers, which were unknown to everybody at the time, broke the language barrier and allowed them to understand the language.  Margot and Julie figured that their power would allow them to understand any language thereafter.  Or they hoped so.  Margot, at the time, was concentrating on kicking Darien's butt.  Every time they fought with swords, Darien always won and she was determined to beat him.  "I'm going to beat you this time, Darien!"

"Not in your lifetime, Margot," Darien said, blocking one of Margot's thrusts.

"Hey, I can beat you, just watch.  I was the General of the French Army, you know."  Margot paused and brought her sword up to block an attack.  "Well, I was in the play St. Joan at any rate," Margot said in response to Darien's slightly shocked look, as if to say, "You were the general of the French Army?"

"Oh, you were the general of the French Army in a play," Rowen said, who was mediating the fight between the two swordfighters, "I couldn't quite believe that a 16-year old girl was the general of the French Army in reality."  If Margot could have, she would have glared at the blue-haired boy, who was widely grinning at her, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Darien for fear of him winning.  Such was the scene in the training room that afternoon.  Julie leaning up against the wall and reading, Cye and Sage mediating the fight between Kento and Ryo, and Rowen mediating the sword fight between Margot and Darien.  The afternoon seemed to be going along rather nicely when a sudden flash of pain hit Julie and she dropped her book, screaming in pain as visions came to her; visions of Ami and Serena getting hurt.  Part of Julie's power was that whenever something happens that wasn't supposed to happen, she got flashes accompanied with a sharp headache.  Margot also received the visions, partly through her telepathic link with Julie and without the pain that went with the visions, although the visions were overwhelming, overloading her mind.  Margot, who was receiving the visions almost immediately after Julie did, froze, dropping her sword to the ground.  Darien almost didn't pull his sword away in time, which was coming down to strike Margot.  As Margot's mind cleared and Julie's pain disappeared, the two girls looked at each other and each whispered one word.  "Ami," Julie whispered right before Margot whispered, "Serena."  One mention of the two girls sent Rowen and Darien bolting out the door in a panic.  The way Margot and Julie said their names didn't have a good ring to it and they knew something had happened.  Julie and Margot ran after them, Margot shouting, "Wait!  You don't know where it is!"  The other four followed not far behind, not wanting to miss out on the action and wanting to make sure that the girls were alright.  

***  
By the time they all arrived at the scene, Julie and Margot had caught up to Rowen and Darien and were showing them where to go, the other Ronin Warriors following along closely.  As their gazes all focused on the scene in front of them, they saw Mina kneeling down next to Ami and Serena and Raye and Lita ready to fight one of Metallia's monsters.  Darien and Rowen immediately saw red, knowing that the reason that Ami and Serena were on the ground was because of this monster.  Both of them launched into their transformation.  "Armor of Strata!  ARMOR OF STRATA!  DAO INOCHI!"

"Power of Spirit!  I call upon the armor of Spirit.  Armor of Spirit, TO ARMS!"  Within moments, Darien stood there in his deep black armor and Rowen in his dark blue, each of them with their weapons in their hands, ready to fight.  As the monster, closed in on Raye, Lita, Rowen, and Darien, the others went over to Mina, who was trying her hardest to keep Ami and Serena from bleeding to death.  Looking up at them, her hands covered in blood, Mina said, "You guys have to help me.  I don't know how to stop the bleeding."  Mina was on the verge of tears.  She didn't know if she could bear having Ami and Serena die on her.  Sage thought about it for a moment before coming up with a solution.  "We're going to have to keep them alive using our power to slow the bleeding and keep them breathing.  Our powers can exert a certain amount of influence and I'm sure we can keep Ami and Serena from losing too much blood before we get them to the hospital."  The others agreed with Sage's idea and all of them transformed into their sub-armor.  "Armor of Torrent!"

"Armor of Hardrock!"

"Armor of Wildfire!"

"Armor of Halo!"

"Power of the Heavens!"

"Power of Destiny!"

"Power of Fate!"  All of them appeared in their sub-armor and they instinctually grabbed hands, forming a circle around Ami and Serena.  They closed their eyes and used meditation techniques to concentrate their powers.  The air distorted with the power waves that were radiating off of the group, the colors of all of their powers mingling, creating a sea of colors that hovered over the two bleeding girls.  They seemed to be frozen in time; the bleeding trickled down to almost nothing and their breathing was stabilized.  But only for the moment.  The others knew they couldn't keep it up forever.  Raye, Lita, Rowen, and Darien would have to beat the monster soon so they could call the hospital.  Ami, who was barely conscious, looked around at all of her friends, who were fighting to save her life.  She wanted to live so badly and she would make it through for the people who were fighting to keep her alive.  At that moment, Rowen and Darien snapped.  Raye and Lita's attacks hadn't worked on the monster and the two guys had had enough.  Both of them looked at each other and nodded in understanding.  Turning back towards the monster, they called out their attacks, fueled with rage at the monster for hurting the women they loved.  "ARROW SHOCKWAVE!"

"SPIRIT SWORD ANGUISH!"  The rage-powered attacks hit the monster, killing it immediately.  Rowen and Darien, who were breathing heavily from the use of their powers, detransformed into their regular clothes and turned to go to Ami and Serena as Raye and Lita detransformed all the way as well and ran off to find a pay phone to call for an ambulance.  Rowen and Darien broke through the circle, surprisingly without destroying the concentration of power, and knelt besides Ami and Serena.  Darien took an unconscious Serena into his arms and held her close to him, mindful of her wound.  He cradled her gently, using his power and love for her to help keep her with him.  Rowen knelt down beside Ami and leaned over her, his face right above hers and his hand gently touching her cheek.  "Hey," he said to Ami.

"Hi," Ami croaked out.

"You're going to be alright; Raye and Lita went to get help.  You just have to make it to the hospital.  Don't die on me, Ami Mizuno."  Rowen's eyes were filling with tears.  If Ami didn't make it through, he didn't know what he would do.  Ami gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry.  I'm not ready to leave you yet.  I'll live, Rowen."  Rowen managed a smile and just looked into her eyes.  Ami was grateful that Rowen was there.  He helped get her mind off the pain.  Looking into his deep blue eyes, practically the color of his armor, helped take away any pain that she was feeling at that moment.  Their eyes locked and Rowen's face came closer, their lips about to meet.  Their moment was interrupted when he heard the shrill of an ambulance's siren.  He looked up to see that Raye and Lita had returned and the others had detransformed.  Giving Ami a reassuring look, he backed away as the medics approached Ami and Serena, putting them both on gurneys and loading them into the ambulance.  The group of young warriors watched with sad eyes as the ambulance sped away.  "This wasn't supposed to happen," Margot said.

"They weren't supposed to get hurt.  This goes against fate and destiny.  That's why I got the headache and the visions," Julie said, "Margot and I are supposed to know when something hasn't gone the way it's supposed to and we're supposed to try and fix it."

"But I guess there's no fixing this.  This is going to have to be fixed in its own time," Margot concluded.  The others nodded in understanding and turned to face the authorities, who had showed up on the scene.  A policeman approached them and, holding out his badge, said, "I'm Detective Masaki and I have a few questions for you kids, if you don't mind answering them.  I just need to know what happened."  The group looked at each other for a moment in confirmation before turning back to the cop.  "Ok," Ryo said, "We'll answer your questions, Detective."  The detective only smiled in thanks before commencing.

***  
Later that evening, Rowen, Julie, and Margot sat outside Ami's hospital room.  Everyone else, except for Darien who was with Serena, had gone home.  Rowen and Darien had refused to leave until they found out that Ami and Serena were all right and Julie and Margot stayed to make sure that the guys wouldn't do anything drastic.  Julie sat in her chair, her head back and her eyes closed, trying to get some sort of rest while Margot watched, amused, as Rowen paced back and forth.  "Rowen, will you sit down?" Margot asked him, getting a little annoyed at his neurotic behavior.

"No," he said curtly.  Julie lifted her head up and said, "Well, Rowen, the doctors gave her 2 and a half shots of morphine for the pain.  I'm sure she's going to be more than fine.  In fact, she's going to be a little delirious when she wakes up."

"Are you sure?" Rowen asked.  Margot and Julie gave each other another one of their knowing looks.  They once had a friend who had received 2 and a half shots of morphine and she was really out of it.  "Yes," they both said at the same time, looking back at Rowen.  Rowen opened his mouth, obviously to argue again, when the doctor came out of Ami's room.  "Is she going to be alright?" Rowen asked, rushing over to the middle-aged woman.

"She's going to be fine.  The bullet wound on her side is doing ok and she has a large bump on the back of her head, which is making her a little out of it.  The morphine should have kicked in by now, but I'm not sure."

"Can we go in and see her?" Margot asked.  The woman only nodded and Julie and Margot walked past the doctor into Ami's room.  Rowen was still out in the hallway with the doctor.  "Thank you," he said gratefully.

"You're welcome," the doctor said, "I'll be back to check on Ami in a half an hour."  The woman walked off down the hallway, leaving Rowen alone, so he decided to go into Ami's room.  When he walked in there, he found Margot and Julie standing on opposite sides of Ami's bed, talking to her.  "I wonder if the morphine has kicked in yet," Margot said.

"I don't know, let's find out.  Hey Ami," Julie said.  Ami opened her eyes and looked up at the two girls.

"Yeah?" she asked.  Julie and Margot looked at each other and used their telepathic link.  _"Do you wanna ask how many cups of sugar it takes to get to the moon?"_ Margot asked through their link, remembering one of their favorite movies, A Goofy Movie.

_"Of course,"_ Julie said.  They turned back to Ami and said, "How many cups of sugar does it take to get to the moon?"  They knew that if Ami seriously considered the question that the morphine had kicked in because a normal Ami would have given the two of them a look like they were crazy.  Instead, Ami put a finger to her mouth, tapping her lower lip, and said, "Let me think," in a little kid voice, "I know the answer to this question.  Hmm," Ami said, seriously thinking about it.

"You guys are evil," Rowen said to Margot and Julie.  They only smiled at Rowen.  "That's why you love us," Margot said.

"Yes, your lives would not be the same if we were not here," Julie said.  Rowen only gave them a look.  Suddenly, Ami became very aware that Rowen was in the room.  "Rowen!" Ami exclaimed happily.  Rowen walked over to the bed, taking Julie's spot, as the two crazy girls moved to stand at the end of the bed.  "How are you feeling?" he asked Ami.

"Oh, I'm feeling fine.  But, I wasn't before.  I hurt a lot and, and, and they gave me a lot of drugs, but they weren't working and then the doctor did something and POOF!" Ami exclaimed, letting her arms fly in the air.  Her left hand, in all her excitement, smacked Rowen in the face and Julie and Margot cringed, burying their heads in their hands in exasperation.  _"I can't believe Ami,"_ Margot said to Julie.

_"Neither can I.  She's acting like she has no inhibitions,"_ Julie said back in her mind.  Suddenly, the two of them realized what that meant.  They turned to each other, each wide eyed with horror.  "Uh-oh," they both whispered, but neither Ami nor Rowen heard it.  "Ow!" Rowen exclaimed as Ami hit him in the face with her hand.  Ami looked up at Rowen with a guilty look on her face and said, "Sorry.  I didn't mean to."

"It's alright, Ami," said Rowen.  He took her left hand and placed it back down on the bed.  "Could you try to avoid hitting me though?" he asked Ami, but she wasn't listening to him any more.  She was looking at Rowen, with a wondering gaze, as if she was trying to describe something.  All of the sudden, her face broke out in a big smile and she giggled.  "Rowen, you're cute."  Rowen looked at her, quite surprised as Julie and Margot tried to swallow their laughs.  "No, no, you're not cute."  Rowen looked very disappointed for a moment until Ami spoke again.  "You're gorgeous.  Yes, that's what you are.  Gorgeous," Ami said very matter-of-factly.  Julie and Margot nearly fell over in surprise and Rowen froze.  "What?" he asked in a whisper.

"Did I ever tell you…did I ever tell you," Ami said, "Did I ever tell you that…the sky is green…Wait, no, that wasn't what I wanted to say," Ami said, thinking very hard about what she really wanted to say.  "The sky's not green," Ami said, getting slightly deterred from her original path.  "The sky is…the color of your hair," Ami said, pointing to Rowen's head.

"You mean blue?" Rowen answered for Ami, a little amused and very scared of her behavior.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Ami asked, really wanting to know how he knew.  "But, that's not what I wanted to say.  What was it?  Um…" Ami trailed off, thinking very hard.  Then, it hit her.  "Oh yeah, yeah, I remember.  Did I ever tell you that…"  
"Did you ever tell me what?" Rowen prompted.

"Did I ever tell you that I'm…that I'm in…that I'm in love with…"  Rowen suddenly looked very expedient for what Ami was going to say next.

"That you're in love with who?"  Ami only looked up at him and reached up a hand, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him down to her level.  "That I'm in love with…" and suddenly, the morphine really kicked in and Ami passed out.  Rowen looked very disappointed and very heart-broken.  Now he would never know.  Margot and Julie, on the other hand, being the omniscient beings that they were, left the room in a rush.  Once they made it about 20 feet away from the door, they started to laugh hysterically, not believing what they had just heard from Ami.  _"She was so close to telling him that she was in love with him, wasn't she?"_ Julie asked Margot.

_"Duh!"_ Margot exclaimed, still laughing.  Rowen, who had just left the room, walked out into the hallway and came in contact with two very hysterical young women.  "What is so funny, you guys?" he asked.  Julie walked over to Rowen and put her hands on his shoulders.  "Dude, you don't know what just happened."

"You will never see Ami like that ever again," Margot said, finally bringing herself under control.  Julie turned to Margot and said, "Well, actually, he will see her like that again."  Margot shot Julie a look.  _"Now who's spilling stuff about the future, hmm?"_ Margot said to Julie.  Julie suddenly realized that she had spilled a clue about something that would happen many years down the line.  "Whoops, sorry," Julie said.

"Good, don't do it again," Margot warned.

"I won't.  At least, I'll try not to."

"What are you talking about?" Rowen asked.  Those two were always talking about things that no one could understand or comprehend.  It seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Nothing," Julie and Margot chimed at the same time.

"You two are weird," Rowen said, looking at Julie and shaking his head.  Julie only smiled broadly and Margot looked away innocently, a hint of a smile on her face as she pretended to be the perfect little angel.

***

-December 12th, 1999-

It had been two days since Ami and Serena had been attacked by Almandine's monster.  The entire household had been extremely tense.  Ami was fine, after the morphine wore off of course.  But Serena was still unconscious.  The bullet wound to the head had caused head trauma and the longer she stayed unconscious, the less likely it was that she would ever wake up.  Darien never left her side, keeping a constant vigil, waiting for her to wake up.  Rowen came in everyday to visit Ami and talk to her while in the hospital.  He had found out from Ami that the reason why Ami and Serena didn't fight back was because they were surprised attacked.  Rowen then asked why Serena didn't feel the monster and Ami answered because Serena can only feel it when the monster uses magical powers against somebody.  The monster that attacked them was specifically looking for them and would only attack when it found them and it used physical means of attacking, which meant that Serena couldn't sense it.  Everyone worried about Serena and about Darien if Serena never woke up.  But, although everyone worried about Serena, they all had a feeling that she had to wake up while Celia, Margot, and Julie knew that Serena would wake up, but it was a matter of when that had the three stumped.  Margot continued to ponder over it as she stood in Serena's hospital room.  Julie was checking up on Ami and saying hi to Rowen while Margot was surveying the scene in front of her.  The stark white-walled room was deathly silent, save for the beeping of the heart monitor that stood next to Serena's bed.  Although the room was crammed with people, no one moved or said anything.  The white-coated doctor looked around as she measured the reactions from her most recent and very serious announcement on Serena's condition.  It was beginning to look that Serena was never going to wake up.  She looked down at the girl lying comatose on the bed.  Although she was covered in bandages, she could see how this tiny girl had inspired so many people and touched their hearts so deeply.  She hung her clipboard on the bedpost and walked out of the room slowly.  At the door, she paused to look back.  

"I'm sorry," she said regretfully before walking out of the room.  A muffled sob came from one corner of the room as Raye buried her face in her hands.  She pushed her way out of the room and ran down the hallway.  Sage automatically started for the door before he stopped and checked his emotion.  With a resounding thud, one fist hit the wall and he bowed his head, leaning it against the wall in agony.  He wanted to help Raye so badly, but there was nothing he could do to help her.  Extremely frustrated, he hit his other fist against the wall before turning his back to it and leaning against it, trying to stop the tears that were forming in his eyes from spilling.  He just wanted Serena to wake up and make everything better like she always did.  There was a flurry of motion as everyone reacted to the news that rather than improving, Serena was slipping much further into her coma.  Lita slammed her fist into her hand as a solitary tear trekked down her face.  She stalked out of the room behind her friend.  Alex followed her, her face blank but her shoulders slouched forward in defeat, Sage not far behind her.  Mia reached out to place her hand on Darien's shoulder comfortingly.  Ryo leaned back in his chair and mindlessly traced the outline of Serena's hand.  He couldn't believe it.  Serena was one of his closest friends; she was practically his sister and she was his cousin in the Silver Millennium.  They weren't related by blood, but it was the closest thing Ryo had to a living relative as she was going to die.  He bowed his head and gripped her tiny hand.  He felt a pair of arms encircle his shoulders and he looked up at Margot and smiled a little-pain filled half smile.  His other cousin from the Silver Millennium, twin sister to Julie, was almost as close to him as Serena was; he was thankful for her presence.  Margot smiled back a little and nudged him.  He looked up at her in puzzlement and she flashed her eyes at Mia and then back to Ryo.  He smiled slightly and after depositing a kiss on Serena' white hand, stood and moved across the room.  He laid two hands on Mia's shoulders.  When she turned, he could see the tears swimming in her green eyes.  Without a word, she turned into his arms and began to sob.  Darien sat with a dazed expression on his face as he held Serena's hand and absently stared off into space.  It was almost as if he had never even heard the news.  He didn't move, talk, or anything.  He couldn't comprehend how God could take away the only person he could recall loving since the accident that had taken away his mother and father.  So wrapped up in his grief, Darien didn't realize the first betraying motion of Serena's hand in his.  When a second small hand covered his and gripped weakly, he shook off all the daze enough to look down at his hands.  Almost disbelievingly, his eyes traced up Serena's arms to her face. Through tear-clouded eyes, he could see her own cerulean eyes beaming brightly into his deep sapphire ones.  She smiled faintly.  Darien felt an unnatural urge to break into a grin and laugh.  "Oh, Serena!"  Mia and Ryo pulled apart from each other.  Gaping, they came to stand by the bed, where Darien was madly laughing and kissing Serena's knuckles one by one.  Ryo watched Darien as if he were going insane until he saw Serena stir.  Mia and Ryo converged on Serena, their expressions suddenly of joy.  Over their heads, Serena smiled at Margot, who winked back mirthfully as if to say "It's good to have you back!" before walking out of the room to deliver the good news to the others.

***  
-December 17th, 1999-

"Ooh, I'm so glad to be getting out of here," Serena said with a smile on her face as Darien wheeled her out of the hospital.  "No more hospital food," Serena concluded, which made Ami laugh, who was walking next to Serena's wheelchair with Rowen walking on the other side of Ami, holding her hand.  He couldn't believe that she was getting out of the hospital and coming back home.  The doctors had insisted that Ami and Serena stay in the hospital so their wounds could heal without the commotion that came from home.  Rowen found that the house without Ami and Serena was boring and he was so relieved that the two of them were coming back, particularly Ami.  And although he knew that the girls' friends were missing and they needed to get them back, he didn't care at that moment; Ami was coming home.  Ami looked over at Rowen and smiled at him.  She didn't know why he was holding her hand, but she didn't care; she rather liked it.  "What are you smiling about?" she asked Rowen.

"Oh, I'm just happy that you and Serena are coming home.  The house has been boring without you and too quiet without Serena.  Even Julie and Margot weren't loud enough to make up for the noise that Serena produces and that includes the loud music that the two of them insist on playing throughout the house at 5:30 in the morning to wake us up for school.  I don't even know who those bands are; I've never heard of them before.  They must be from their world or something."  
"Well, you have to remember Rowen that their world is different than ours.  We don't exist in their world like we do here so it's only obvious that most everything over there is going to be different," Ami said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Rowen said as Serena suddenly realized that they had been talking about her.

"Hey, did you just insult me?" Serena asked, "Are you implying that I'm loud?"

"In a good way, honey, you're loud in a good way," Darien said as they approached his car.  He let Ami and Rowen climb into the back, Rowen helping Ami into the car to make sure that she didn't hurt herself, before helping Serena get into the car and buckling her seat belt for her.  Giving her a quick kiss, causing her to smile, he closed the door and walked over the other side and climbed in.  "Are we ready to go home?" he asked the rest of the car as he turned the key in the ignition and put on his seat belt.

"Yeah!" the two girls said, anticipating their return home.  It was now Christmas break and would be the perfect opportunity for them to rest.  Darien only smiled before pulling his car away from the hospital building and driving away, bringing the two girls back to where the only place where they ever felt they belonged: home.

************

Hey all!  I know this seems like a bit random chapter, but in reality, it's all part of the grand scheme.  Basically, this chapter will help the relationships between a certain two characters come to a rather spectacular bang in the next chapter (guess which couple!).  But if you're going to ask how Serena, who can normally sense youma missed this one, our explanation is that unless a monster is actually using its powers to drain or attack someone, there is no way that she can sense it.  The idea is that she recognizes the power signature being used when the monsters attack someone.

Anyway, the next chapter should be out sometime later this week.  Until then, have a nice week! ~DestinyBabe.


	10. Tense Situations

Part 9: Tense Situations

_For CTRNikkiM,_

_because I know she'll get a kick out of the interaction between her fav characters in here_

-January 5th, 2000-

"So, what does everybody plan on doing today?  We only have 4 days of Christmas vacation left, not including today," Serena said as she shoved a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.  The entire group of 18 warriors was gathered around the breakfast table, as they were every morning, enjoying their late breakfast.  They were all on Christmas vacation and Celia even took off work for two weeks so she could have a vacation with the rest of the Warriors.  And this Christmas had been especially interesting.  Having Margot and Julie there always made things interesting.  The future queen of the Universe and her twin sister had enough Christmas spirit for 10 people.  They were involved with everything: decorating the tree, the house, the front yard, their rooms and everyone else's rooms; they had been baking like crazy until they got to the point where they made too many cookies, so they started giving them away to friends.  The Mystical and Ronin Warriors figured that the two sisters had been so involved from Christmas because it was their first away from home.  They were trying to make up for not having their families there by making that Christmas extra special.  What everyone thought and the two didn't realize was that they had a family where they were: the other Universal Warriors.  In three and a half short months, the two girls had become part of the household, adding infinite supplies of spunk and excitement to the house.  There hadn't been a boring moment since Margot and Julie arrived.  Everyone seriously considered what Serena said.  It was an excellent question; what were they all going to do that day?  "Well," Raye said, "Most of us are going out today.  We're seeing a movie.  Which one, we don't know, but we'll decide when we get there."

"Michelle and I are going to practice for our upcoming concert.  We're going to be up on the fourth floor for most of the day in the practice rooms."

"But you know that's your favorite place in the house, Alex," Mia said, with a smile on her face.

"Yeah," Alex said, smiling at Michelle and taking her hand, "It is my favorite room."  Everyone stared at the couple, thinking about how perfect they were for each other.  They had never met two people more in love than Alex and Michelle.  "Well," Ami said, to get the focus off of a rapidly-becoming-embarrassed Alex and Michelle, "I think I'm going to go swimming today."  Everyone nodded.  Ami was pretty much healed from her experience a month ago and was almost back to her full strength.  She still tired out a little, but that was after a lot of physical activity.  No one had any problems with Ami going swimming…except for Rowen, who was still convinced that Ami shouldn't be exerting herself in any way.  Standing up and slamming his hands down on the table, he looked Ami straight in the eye and said, "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am," Ami said through gritted teeth.  She had had enough.  She liked Rowen and everything, but his constant hovering and worrying over her health was beginning to get on her nerves.  She needed a little space and some time to think and having him constantly around her was a strain on her nerves; she liked him so much that being around him was only making her like him more.  But, now, she was just mad at him; he was trying to control her life again.  She knew he was worried, but it wasn't his decision.

"No, you are not.  You're still recovering and shouldn't be doing anything physical until you've healed all the way."  Ami turned her gaze away and clenched one fist, standing up as well.

"I am going swimming and that's final.  You have no say over what I do.  You can't control my life, Rowen, and if I want to go swimming, then I'll go swimming.  I'm almost totally healed and swimming for 45 minutes isn't going to kill me, no matter what you think.  Just leave me alone."  Rowen's face took on a look of shock before hardening into a glare.

"Fine, I will," he said before turning around and stalking away from the table.  Ami eyed him quickly before turning around in a huff and walking the other direction.  Everyone stared in surprise at the now empty chairs that Ami and Rowen had previously occupied.  "I wonder what their problem is?" Heather asked.

"I don't know," Serena said, "But things between them seem to be a little tense lately."

"A little?" Sage asked, dumbfounded, "I've never seen Rowen so tense before.  He's started snapping at everything.  If it doesn't get resolved between those two, they're going to kill each other."

"Oh, they won't kill each other," Julie said with a grin on her face as she looked across the table at Margot.

"They would never kill each other," Margot said, smiling back.  Celia cleared her throat, getting the two girls attention.  Julie and Margot turned their heads to look at Celia, who was sitting next to them at the head of the table.  With one eyebrow raised, she gave the 16-year old girls a reprimanding look.  Julie and Margot both looked down at their laps and gave a muttered, "Sorry."  Celia smiled triumphantly before turning back to her breakfast.  _That wasn't very fair of Celia,_ Julie told Margot.

_Well, she had a right to.  We're not supposed to be spilling stuff about the future.  Remember what Dad said?_ Margot responded.  Julie inwardly flinched.

_Yeah, I'd rather not get hit over the head with the sun staff.  That thing looks like it would hurt.  A lot._  Margot only smiled at Julie's revelation.  _So, you finally figured that one out.  Bravo,_ Margot said teasingly.  Julie only stuck out her tongue slightly at Margot.  She would have stuck out her tongue all the way at Margot, but that would make the others suspicious as to why Julie was sticking her tongue out at Margot for no reason.  The two would have to think of a suitable cover up to avoid spilling about their telepathic link.  No one was supposed to know about that and Margot and Julie intended on keeping it that way.  The two girls had been so wrapped up in their own conversation that they failed to notice that Mina was asking them a question.  "Sorry Mina, what did you say?" Margot asked.

"I asked you what you were going to do today."

"We're going to hang out," Julie answered for Margot.

"Oh.  And what are you going to do while hanging out?" Mina asked.  Margot smirked.

"Oh, I don't know.  I'm sure Julie and I will be able to think of something."  Mina only sighed.

"I was afraid you'd say that."  Julie and Margot only smiled at each other before resuming eating their breakfast, as everybody else did, thoughts of Ami and Rowen's fight out of their minds.

***  
Ami took in a deep breath as she stood facing the library doors.  She knew Rowen was in there and she knew she needed to apologize to him for yelling at him.  She shouldn't have overreacted like she did when she could have calmly told him that she was going to be ok and she knew what she was doing.  Her face settled into a look of determination before she opened the door and walked in.  Rowen was sitting in a chair by the fire, reading by the light of the fire and the one solitary lamp that was placed by the chair he was sitting in.   He looked like he was studying something because he was also taking notes on what he was reading.  Ami smiled gently, thinking about how cute he looked when he was concentrating, and walked over to stand by the chair.  "Hey, working hard?"  Rowen looked up at Ami and smiled at her.  He seemed to have cooled off since that morning.  Yeah, well I hope so.  I haven't talked to him since this morning, Ami thought.  "Hi Ami," Rowen said, putting his book and notes on the end table.  Ami glanced at the book and said, "Physics?  Oh, are you doing the physics homework she assigned over break?"

"No, I'm just getting ahead.  Did you want something Ami?"  Ami nodded and sat down on the couch that was perpendicular to the chair.

"Yeah, I did.  I wanted to talk to you."  Pausing, she took another deep breath and said, "Rowen, I'm sorry I blew up at you this morning.  It wasn't right of me and you didn't deserve it."

"Well, you know I only worry about you, Ami.  I just don't want you to get hurt again."

"Oh," Ami said, getting a little uncomfortable with where the subject was headed.  So, she changed its course.

"So, what were you studying?" Ami asked Rowen, which got him started off on the idea of a whole long physics theorem that he was saying had been proven correct.  Ami disagreed with him and told him so.  From there, it was up-hill battle.  It eventually got to the point where the two of them were yelling at each other but this time, there wasn't anybody there.  "That theory has never been proven to be correct!  I don't know why you keep saying it is!" Ami yelled at him; she was getting really annoyed with him.

"I keep saying it is because it has.  Haven't you been listening to a single word that I've said?" Rowen yelled back.

"I have been listening to you and the words coming out of your mouth make no sense!" Ami said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and turning her head away."  Rowen couldn't believe it.  This girl was infuriating him.  He loved her so much, but right now, he just wanted to strangle her.  Ami suddenly came down with a moment of pure genius and walked over to the bookshelf by the door and quickly scanned the title for a book.  "Ah ha!" she said as she pulled out a book and walked back over to where Rowen was, who was looking at her expediently, arms crossed over his chest and one eyebrow raised skeptically.  She opened the book and shoved it under Rowen's nose.  "How about that, Mr. Smarty-pants?" Ami said smugly.  Rowen took the book from her hands and quickly scanned the words on the page.  "See?  Look, it hasn't been proven."  Rowen only scoffed at her and turned to the front of the book, finding the copyright date and his mouth dropped open with surprise.  "You're basing your opinion on a book that was printed a year ago?  I don't believe you Ami; I expected better from you."  Ami glared at him and took a step closer to him.  "Well, do you have proof to prove me wrong, Rowen Hashiba?"

"Yeah, I do," he said, stepping closer as well.

"Oh yeah?" Ami taunted, moving a little bit closer.

"Yeah."  By this time, their face were literally centimeters apart.

"Then show it to me," she hissed through her teeth.

"I will," he retorted.  The tension between them was palpable and the room seemed to be crackling with it.  They glared at each other, trying to stare each other down, when something snapped.  All of the anger, tension, and passions; all the little touches and glances they'd been throwing at one another for the last year and a half; all of the feelings and emotions they felt for each other suddenly exploded into a fiery kiss that neither expected or wanted to stop.  His arms wrapped around her, one hand at the small of her back, bringing her closer to him until she was pressed up against his body completely and his other hand cradled her neck.  Her hands flew up to his head, her fingers tangling themselves in his hair.  The passion between them was unbelievable and neither Ami nor Rowen could believe what was happening.  Moments later, they broke apart and stared wide-eyed at each other, gauging the other's reaction.  Both were breathing heavily and had flushed cheeks; Ami's lips were slightly swollen from Rowen's kisses while Rowen's hair was a mess from when Ami tangled her fingers in it.  They couldn't say a word for words had failed them.  They didn't think there was anything to say.  Ami tried to say something, but fear froze her throat.  The feelings running through her were just too much for her and she had to get out of there.  "I'm sorry," she choked out, "I have to go."  She turned around and began walking away, leaving a defeated Rowen behind.  Rowen turned his back to Ami, not wanting to see her walk away from him, possibly forever.  I just ruined any chance of being with her.  I'm such an idiot, Rowen thought, tears forming in his eyes.  Ami, on the other hand, only got about 5 steps away when she stopped to think about what she was doing.  Is walking away the right thing?  Am I really that scared of being with Rowen? Ami asked herself as she stood there, thinking about her relationship with Rowen.  She had never felt as good as she felt when she was with Rowen.  She loved being in his company and had been waiting for the two of them to kiss for the longest time.  She loved him more than words could say.  "Then why are you walking away from him?" a little voice in her head asked her.

I don't know.  I'm just scared, I guess.  What if I get hurt?  What if he leaves me? 

"Take a chance, Ami.  That's what love's about.  Taking risks and baring your soul.  You'll regret it if you don't turn around and go back to him."  For once, Ami decided to listen to that little voice.  Turning around, she looked at Rowen, who had his back to her.  She noticed how his shoulders slumped in defeat and noticed how heartbroken he looked.  Rowen noticed that Ami hadn't left yet and turned to look at her to find her looking at him.  The moment he turned to her, Ami made her decision.  She saw the look in his eyes; the passion, the lust, the admiration, the hopefulness, she saw everything in his eyes and behind all those things, she saw the one thing she longed for the most out of everything: the love.  The love she saw shining in his eyes touched her soul and she knew her heart had ruled out over her mind, which was telling her to walk away.  Walking towards him with a purpose, she pulled him down and kissed him firmly, her hands cradling his face.  His arms wrapped around her and Ami noticed to things: one was that the hands that held her were trembling and the other was the lone tear that hit her thumb as it rested on his face.  Ami felt her whole being become overwhelmed with emotion as she realized what she almost gave away.  Rowen at that moment was amazed that Ami was still there; maybe he hadn't lost her yet.  Passionately kissing, he backed her up until her back hit the wall.  Reaching over blindly, he closed the open door and locked it.  Moving away from her lips, he began planting small kisses on her neck.  In between doing that, he said, "There's only one key to this door, right?"

"Right," Ami said, breathless from the sensations that were coursing through her body.

"And where would this key be?"

"In my pocket."  Rowen pulled back and looked down at her with a smile on his face.

"Good," he said before capturing her lips into another kiss and smiled inwardly as she kissed him back.  They maneuvered their way over to the couch in front of the fire and Ami pushed him so he was sitting on the couch and she climbed on top of him, straddling his legs.  They continued kissing like that and hands started roaming.  Ami's hands ventured underneath Rowen's shirt, pushing it up and removing it; she would have ripped it off if she had to.  Ami's hands moved up his arms and down his chest lightly, causing Rowen to shiver.  Ami had somehow taken complete control of the situation.  Then again, I think she's had control from the start, Rowen thought absently as they continued to kiss.  Rowen noticed that Ami's hands had flown up to the collar of her blouse and she started unbuttoning the buttons.  Rowen pulled away and looked up at Ami, who now had the height advantage because she was sitting on his legs.  "Ami, are you sure you want to do this?" Rowen asked, giving her one last out because after this, there was no turning back.  She looked him straight in the eyes.

"Rowen, I've never been so sure of anything in my life.  And don't worry about protection.  I can use my power to control some of my bodily functions and that happens to be one of them."

"Are you sure?" Rowen asked.

"I'm sure.  If I don't want it to happen, it won't," Ami said before grinning at him.

"Now, are you going to shut up and kiss me or not?"  Rowen only smiled at her before kissing her once more, more passionately than ever before.  As the two of them kissed and more clothes started disappearing, the new couple found themselves lost in a sea of their memories…

***  
Princess Ami felt a hand grab her and pull her into a small alcove, drawing her away from the party.  The other Princesses had managed to disappear and Ami had been alone until now.  Looking at the figure who grabbed her, Ami smiled broadly as she recognized him as Prince Rowen of Strata, a prince of one of the kingdoms on earth.  She had met him while looking for Princess Serena, who was with Prince Darien, brother to her cousin's wife.  He was one of King Ryo's guards and she fell in love with him at first sight, even though she was already engaged to Cairngorm and he was engaged to Labradorite, two generals that served Prince Darien and Princess Mia.  "I was beginning to wonder where you were," she said, "If I didn't find you soon, I was going to start looking for you."  Rowen only smirked at her and pulled her close to him.  "Don't worry about finding me.  I'll always be able to find you no matter what."  He leaned down to kiss her and she reveled in the feeling.  Rowen smiled inwardly as he kissed the beautiful women in his arms.  He too had fallen in love with her immediately and he couldn't believe that he had never met her before with her being the princess of Mercury and protector of Princess Serena.  Surely he would have met her when Princess Serena met up with King Ryo, but he must have missed her.  They pulled away and looked at each other.  "This is so wrong…" Ami started.

"But feels so right at the same time," Rowen finished.  She nodded and looked into his piercing blue eyes, eyes that she could just drown in.  Running the back of his hand down her face gently, he gave her a soft smile and whispered, "I love you."  Ami looked up at him with tears in her eyes and whispered, "I love you too," before reaching up to kiss him.  They both knew from that moment that no matter what, they would love each other forever.  

***  
Ami smiled as she looked down at the floor by the couch that she and Rowen were lying on.  She saw all of their clothes carelessly strewn all over the place and snuggled deeper into Rowen's arms.  He felt her moving closer and tightened his hold on her waist and kissed her bare shoulder.  They were having a nice peaceful moment, laying together, wrapped up in a blanket in front of the fire, each of them beginning to accept the memories they received of the Silver Millennium and finding that they actually liked it.  They had always known that there was a special connection between them, but never knew what it was before.  Rowen looked down at Ami and pushed a strand of hair out of her face, caressing her face tenderly at the same time.  Ami turned and looked up at him with a smile on her face.  She took in his thoughtful look and her brow crinkled in confusion.  "What are you thinking about?"  Rowen gave her a soft smile before saying, "I was just thinking…this isn't how I wanted it to happen."

"Then what did you want?" she asked, thinking that Rowen was beginning to regret what happened.

"To give you what you deserve," Rowen said simply, "To take you out to a nice restaurant and eat dinner with you under the stars.  Then take you back to a really nice room and make slow, passionate love to you in a bed with silk and satin in front of a blazing fire."  Rowen stopped on his little tirade and shrugged slightly.  "Like I said, what you deserve."  Giggling slightly, Ami reached behind her neck and took off her necklace that had her parents' wedding rings on it.  Taking off her father's ring, a simple gold band, she said, "Rowen, give me your hand."  Rowen did and she slid the ring on his left ring finger.  Rowen looked at the ring on his hand in shock and said to her, "I thought you were going to give this to the guy you were going to spend the rest of your life with?"

"I know," she said tenderly, "He's wearing it."  Rowen looked at her, shocked, and asked, "Are you serious?"  She nodded.

"Yes, I'm serious Rowen.  Think about the memories we got back.  Our souls have been together for over a thousand years.  I've never been so serious about anything in my entire life."  Rowen smiled and Ami looked at him confused when he pulled the chain with her mother's ring out of her hand.  He looked down at the ring as he removed it from the chain.  It was a beautiful silver ring with a small sapphire surrounded by tiny diamonds.  The ring was delicate and perfect for Ami.  Smirking at her, he took her hand and placed the ring at her finger.  Pushing a lock of blue hair away from her forehead, he said, "I love you, Ami Mizuno."

"I love you too, Rowen Hashiba," She said before their lips met again briefly.  Breaking off their kiss, Ami and Rowen made themselves comfortable on the couch before drifting off to sleep.

***

"Um, where are Ami and Rowen?" Kento asked later that evening at dinner.  The two still hadn't shown up yet and everybody was getting worried.  "Maybe they killed each other," Ryo said, just trying to think up a solution.  Everybody started talking about where Ami and Rowen could be and Margot and Julie sat there, deep in thought, when it suddenly came to them where the two were.  Their eyes going wide, Margot and Julie stood up and immediately walked out of the dining room.  "Hey, where are you going?" Lita asked, "Dinner hasn't even started yet!"

"We're going to find Ami and Rowen.  We think we know where they are," Margot said.  They got about two steps out of the dining room when they both froze.  Julie turned around and walked back into the dining room, headed for Serena's chair.  "Um, Serena, do you have an extra key to the library?"

"Yeah, it's in the kitchen in the black box on the counter."

"Thank you," Julie said before running into the kitchen.  She emerged a few moments later with a key in her hand and she ran over to Margot.  "Ok, now we can go."  The two of them ran off, leaving everyone else confused.  "I wonder what that was all about," Sage asked.

"Who knows," Raye responded, "But it was a little weird."

"That describes Julie and Margot," Cye said, "A little weird."  The entire table only chuckled, knowing how true it was.

***  
Margot and Julie stopped in front of the library doors.  Julie put her hand to the doorknob and turned it gently, finding that it was locked.  "Just like I thought," Julie muttered, "They locked it.  That confirms it; they're together Margot."

"Well, that's one out of 5 together," Margot said.  Julie smiled.

"Do you want to knock or should I?" she said.

"I think you should knock.  I don't like the idea of interrupting them.  Especially considering what they were doing," Margot said a light blush creeping up onto her face.

"Silly Margot," Julie said before forming her hand into a fist and pounding on the door several times.  Margot and Julie both laughed as they heard yells of surprise and loud thuds that sounded like two people hitting the floor.  "What?" Rowen yelled through the library doors.

"It's me," Julie said.

"And me," Margot chimed in.

"We know you and Ami are in there together.  We came down here because you two are 20 minutes late to dinner and I'm coming in there in 30 seconds whether you're dressed or not.  We know what you've been doing in there, you two."  From where they were, Margot and Julie could hear the loud whispers.

"How did they know?"

"I don't know.  They're part of the Oracle Warriors.  Maybe they just know because of their power."

"Well, whatever it is, I wish they didn't know."  Margot became impatient; their thirty seconds were up.  "If you don't hurry up, we'll bring Mina down here and I don't think you want that.  Can you imagine what would happen if she found out?"

"Alright, we're coming in," Julie said, unlocking the door.

"How can you?" Ami said, "You don't have a…"  Ami trailed off as Julie opened the door and held the key up in her hand.

"Key," Ami finished.

"Where did you get that key?" Rowen asked, wearing only his boxers and his jeans.

"Serena made a copy of the library key and she gave it to us.  It came in handy just now," Margot said.

"When did Serena get so smart?" Ami asked.  Margot and Julie only shrugged.  Margot said, "But to keep you happy, we'll keep this copy so no one will be able to get in and you're secret will be safe.  You don't intend on telling anyone that you two are together, right?"  Ami and Rowen nodded.

"We want to keep this a secret between the 4 of us," Rowen said.

"Oh, and Celia," Julie chimed in.

"Celia knows?" Ami and Rowen asked.

"Celia knows everything," Margot said, "Even if you don't want her to, she knows it all.  But she won't tell.  She's really good at that."

"Ok, well, as long as you two don't tell anyone," Ami said, finishing buttoning up her shirt, "I think we'll be ok."

"Great!" Margot said, "Now come on and let's get back to dinner.  I'm hungry!"  The group headed over to the dining room and when they entered, everyone turned to look at them.  "Well, they finally decide to arrive," Mina said, a smirk on her face.  "What were you doing anyway?" Mina asked.

"We were researching," Rowen said, making it up as he went along, "And didn't hear the call for dinner."

"What were you researching?" Sage asked.

"Oh, just some physics stuff," Rowen said as he sat down on the right side of Sage.

"Oh," Sage said simply.  Ami took the seat that was across from Rowen and after Julie and Margot sat down in their original places, dinner began.  

***  
After dinner, the Universal Warriors sat in the living room, relaxing after dinner.  They rarely had the chance to relax like they were doing at that moment, so they were all savoring the moment while it lasted.  "Ah, this is nice," Lita said, "Getting to have a moment to relax.  It's practically heaven."  The group agreed and Serena cringed; she had some bad news to bear.  "Well, Lita, I hate to have to disappoint you, but duty calls.  There's a monster attack in the middle of the city and we have to go kill it."  Lita sighed disappointingly.  "Why did you have to tell me that?  Why do you have to have the ability to sense when a monster is attacking Tokyo?"  Serena shrugged, getting up from her seat.

"I don't know.  But consider us lucky that I do or else we'd be losing a lot of lives."  The group ran out the front door, where they all transformed, and headed towards the fight, running as fast as they could, which was pretty fast.  Once they reached the scene of the battle, they saw two rather ugly looking monsters that resembled cavemen.  "Yuck!" Serena exclaimed at first sight, "Where did those things come from?  The ice age?"  No one offered an answer and prepared to fight.  The monsters spotted the warriors and triumphant looks spread over their faces; they had been sent by Almandine to find the Universal Warriors and they had.  Now they could kill them.  The monsters launched themselves into an attack and the Universal Warriors countered; the monsters were extremely outnumbered and there was no way they could win.  The group created a haphazard circle around the monsters, trying to overwhelm them.  One of the monsters, obviously the smarter of the two, noticed how outnumbered it and its companion were and panicked, throwing its weapon aside.  Ami watched wordlessly as the weapon flew out of the monster's hand and then realized where it was headed.  It was aimed straight for Rowen's head.  "Rowen!  Duck!" Ami cried out, trying to warn Rowen of the impending assault.  Rowen's brow furrowed and looked up at the sky.  "What?  Where?" he said.  He obviously thought the wrong kind of duck and was immediately whacked in the head with the monster's weapon, which was a big club.  Rowen went down and Ami rushed for him, leaving everyone else to take care of the monsters.  Kneeling beside him, she turned him onto his back and took off his helmet.  "Rowen, are you ok?" she asked tenderly, shaking his armored form slightly.  He opened his closed eyes and looked up at her with puzzlement.  "Ami," he asked slowly, "When did you get a twin sister?"  Ami chuckled. 

"I never had a twin sister, Rowen.  You're just seeing double."  Rowen's face broke out into a look of realization.

"Oh, well that's good.  I don't think I could love two of you; I wouldn't be able to choose."  Ami giggled at him and ran a gloved hand through his hair.  Shadows covered Rowen's body and Ami looked up to see Margot and Julie approaching, both of them still fully armored.  "Uh," Margot said nervously, "I hate to break up this little cute and tender scene, but the other's just destroyed the monster and are coming over here."  
"Yeah," Julie agreed, "You might wanna break up the cute and cuddly stuff, seeing how as you two don't want the others to know."  Ami and Rowen nodded in understanding and as Julie and Margot moved away, Ami helped Rowen make his way into a sitting position.  From a distance, Serena was looking on at the two with a suspicious look on her face.  I wonder what's going on between those two?  They seem really close now and don't seem to be fighting anymore.  In fact, it's almost like she's being really tender with him.  What happened between those two today? Serena thought as she walked over to where Ami and Rowen were.  "Hey, are you ok?" she asked as she approached the two.  They looked up at her and Rowen responded.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rowen said, "I just got hit on the head too hard and was seeing double for about 30 seconds."

"Well, that's good," Serena said, "As long as you're essentially unharmed.  Lucky for you, you have that helmet to help protect any hard blows to the head, like that last one.  If you didn't have that helmet, you would have been knocked out cold."  Rowen chuckled.

"Yeah, I agree," Rowen said.  Ami picked Rowen's helmet up off of the ground and handed it to him.

"Here you go," she said.  He smiled his thanks, which caused her to smile back, and put on his helmet, rising to his feet slowly with the support of Ami and Serena.  Once the group had gathered together, Serena said, "Are we ready to go home?"  No one had a chance to answer before they heard a high, feminine laugh.  Looking around, the Universal Warriors saw nothing but then right in front of them, a portal opened up and a woman stepped out.  Her long, reddish-black hair flowed behind her and her dark burgundy eyes sparkled with malice.  She was short, only about 5'2" and was wearing an outfit much like the Generals that the girls faced when they were in their Sailor Scout form, but this woman's outfit was a dark red.  Ami's eyes widened as she recognized the woman standing in front of her and she shivered as she remembered where she had seen her before; this woman was the same person who tortured Ami when she had been captured by Metallia.  "I must say you all are pretty impressive.  But none of you have power the equal of Queen Metallia's.  You are weaklings compared to her."

"Who are you?" Sage asked.  

She smiled and said, "My name is Almandine and I loyally serve the great Queen Metallia."  She smiled evilly before changing the subject back to what she had been talking about.  "Let me tell you this: You may have won this battle, but the war is far from over and that you will never be able to win."  With that, Almandine disappeared into the portal she appeared from, leaving the Universal Warriors in shock.  "So, that's one of Metallia's generals," Darien said, "She looks familiar to me; I think she was involved in the Silver Millennium, but I'm not sure."

"I think she is too," Mia said, "I remember her from somewhere, but I don't know where."

"Well, if she's one of Metallia's generals, then she's in the same league as Malachite or Jedite," Serena said, "Which means they shouldn't be much of a problem for all of us.  But, now is not the time for business.  Let's go home and get some rest; we all deserve it."  The group detransformed and began walking home.  Ami and Rowen trailed the group and, when no one was looking, Rowen grabbed Ami's hand.  She smiled at him and held onto his hand.  Rowen gave Ami a wide smile before turning to face the road in front of him.  By the time they got home, Rowen was still holding Ami's hand; he hadn't let go of it once.

**********

Hey guys, sorry this took so long.  I've had a hellish week, what with three master classes and four shows, a geology test and many other assorted projects and work. But it's only been a week!  Anyway, there's a new chapter for you guys.  So, review, please!!  We would love to hear what you think of any and all recent developments, even if you hated it, k?  Alright, I've got to go now.  ~DestinyBabe


	11. Three Generals Left

Part 10 – Three Generals Left

-January 21st, 2000-

"Do you really have to go?" Ami asked Rowen as they lay in her bed, trying to sleep.  It had only been two weeks since they got together and nobody knew, with the exception of Celia, Margot, and Julie.  Ami and Rowen wanted to keep it that way for the moment.  They didn't know if they were comfortable with everyone knowing about them yet.  Well, it was more they didn't know if they were comfortable with Serena knowing.  Once Serena knew, she would tease them to no end until she got sick of doing that and moved on to something else.  At that particular moment, the young couple was cuddling in Ami's bed, Rowen wearing a pair of sweats and Ami wearing a nightgown.  And Ami was particularly upset.  Rowen and the other Ronin Warriors had been called by Lady Kayura to check up on the Netherworld and to quash any rising evil factions that threatened to attack the earth again.  The presence and power of the Ronin Warriors was required, along with the Warlords, with Kayura still wearing Anubis' armor.

"You know why I have to go, Ami," Rowen said, pulling Ami closer into his embrace.  Ami in turn snuggled closer to her lover and turned to face him.

"I know why you have to go, but I don't want you to," she said with a pout on her face, "I mean, what if something happens to you and you can't come back?"  Rowen smiled down at Ami and said, "With you here, I will always come back, even if it takes me a thousand years."  Ami's eyes began glistening with tears.  Still after two weeks, Ami wasn't used to the sweetness that Rowen displayed at times, especially when they were alone.  Ami smiled up at Rowen and leaned up to give him a quick kiss before wordlessly settling in to go to sleep.  That was how their relationship worked; the two of them had no need for words.  Rowen wrapped his arms around Ami as she tucked her head underneath his chin, pressing her body up against his as both of them drifted off to sleep.

***  
-January 22nd, 2000-

The Ronin Warriors had left early that morning, leaving the house short of 5 people.  They left the house before anyone was up.  Even Ami didn't notice Rowen's absence until she woke up to find him not there.  Instead of finding him, she found a note.  It read: "Dear Ami, I wanted to say goodbye before I left, but I didn't want to wake you up.  We might have gotten distracted from saying goodbye and I needed out of your room before the guys came looking for me in mine.  I just wanted to tell you that I love you and for you not to miss me too much while I'm gone.  And don't worry.  I will come back because I have you to come back to.  I love you.  Love, Rowen."  Ami smiled as she read the note to herself.  She could understand why he didn't want to wake her up.  He had to wake up before any of the other guys so he could sneak down to his room through the secret passageway that Julie and Margot showed them a couple weeks ago to make their secret easier to keep a secret.  She folded up the note and put it in her nightstand drawer before getting up and walking out of her room, putting on her robe on the way out.  As she walked downstairs, she felt an emptiness in her heart that hadn't been there before.  And she knew what it was without even thinking about it.  She missed Rowen.  And he hasn't even been gone for 4 hours and I missed him already, Ami thought as she moved through the dining room and into the kitchen, where Lita was beginning to cook breakfast.  As it turned out, she and Lita were the only ones out of bed.  Lita turned at the sound of Ami's footsteps.  "Oh, good morning Ami.  How are you this morning?" she asked cheerfully.  Ami thought about it for a minute.

"I'm kind of tired actually.  I don't think I got enough sleep last night."  Lita frowned in sympathy. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lita said before changing the topic.  "Hey, did you know that the guys are gone?"

"They are?" Ami asked feigning innocence.

"Yeah, I went to look for Kento to have him help me with breakfast, but it turned out that he and the other guys left to help that Lady Kayura person really early this morning."  Ami sighed.

"Well, that's too bad," the blue-haired girl said.

"Yeah, it is," Lita agreed, "I'm really going to miss Kento."  Ami smirked.

"Oh, I'm so sure you will Lita," Ami said teasingly.

"Hey," Lita said, "Like you're not going to miss Rowen," Lita shot back.  Ami looked Lita straight in the eye.

"Believe me, Lita, I miss him already."  Ami let herself drown in the empty feeling she had in her heart before banishing it.  Giving Lita her most cheerful smile, Ami said, "So, since Kento's not here to help you with breakfast, how about accepting help from me?  It would be just like old times, Lita."  Lita smiled; before the Ronin Warriors came to live with them, Ami had always helped Lita out in the kitchen.  But, when Kento came, he replaced Ami as Lita's official kitchen-helper.  "Sure," Lita said, "I hope you still remember how everything in my kitchen works."

"Oh don't worry Lita.   I couldn't forget it if I tried."

"Good," Lita said cheerfully, "Then let's get to work."  As the two of them started making breakfast, Ami could feel the heartache of missing Rowen disappear slightly and she knew everything was going to be all right.

***  
-January 28th, 2000-

It had been a week since the guys had left for the Netherworld and the girls were wondering when they were going to come back.  Surely it couldn't take a week to take care of a few minor things in the other world, could it?  The house was terribly boring without the guys and the Mystical Warriors were sick of having to make excuses for the guys' absences from school.  The most popular one was that all the guys had gotten the flu and were bed-ridden, therefore they couldn't attend school and they didn't know when the guys would be able to return to school.  It seemed to work and the girls were happy.  But, as much as they hated to admit it, they all wanted the guys back.  The house was just too quiet without them.  Margot and Julie had tried everything to get Mia, Ami, Lita, Raye, and Mina to cheer up, but nothing seemed to work.  Serena tired as well, along with Heather, but Alex, Michelle, and Celia didn't even bother; they knew there was nothing they could do, short of bringing the guys back, that would cheer them up.  Out of all of the girls, Ami was the one who was most affected by the absence of the guys and everyone had noticed.  It was most noticeable that night at dinner.  "I think I'm going to go upstairs and do my homework," Ami said as she got out of her chair and walked out of the dining room.  Mina scoffed at Ami as she walked out.

"Well, that was rude of her, wasn't it?  She didn't even say goodbye," Mina said.

"Yeah, what is wrong with her?" Alex asked, trying to figure out what could make Ami, who was normally so considerate, act really rude.

"She's had a real attitude problem tonight at dinner," Serena pointed out.  Raye nodded in understanding.

"Well, now that you mention it, she's been like this all week, pretty much since the guys left.  I wonder if that has anything to do with it?" Raye speculated.

"Does she really miss Rowen that much?" Mia said.  Lita nodded at the older girl.

"Yeah, she does," Lita said, "She told me on Saturday morning that she missed him already.  I guess the two of them are really close."

"Well, that's only to be expected," Michelle said, taking a bite of her food, "I mean, look at the similarities between those two.  Rowen is probably the only guy Ami has ever met who is as smart as Ami is.  He's one of the only people she can really relate to.  From what I understand from talking to Rowen and Ami is that they were both social outcasts when they were younger because of their intelligence.  They've both gone through similar experiences and it makes it easy for them to talk to each other.  It's no wonder she misses him so much.  And I bet you that he misses her as much as she misses him."  Everyone stared at Michelle in shock, except for Alex and Celia.  They were all amazed at how perceptive Michelle was.  Margot and Julie were more amazed at how true Michelle's words were.  It seemed that Michelle was beginning to see what was going on between Ami and Rowen and was tactfully not saying anything.  About 20 minutes later, after totally dissecting Ami and Rowen's relationship, dinner was over and the table was cleared.  The rest of the house dispersed, with Lita and Mia to do the dishes.  Margot and Julie went upstairs to Ami's room, where Ami was immersed in her studies.  Without even knocking, as was Julie's style, Julie burst through the door and looked at Ami squarely, who was sitting at her desk, doing her homework.  "Ami, we need to talk to you."

"About what?" Ami asked, putting her pen down and looking at the two girls.

"Your attitude as of late," Margot said, "I hate to break it to you, but the entire household has been noticing your behavior since Rowen left to go to the Netherworld."  Margot looked at Ami seriously before continuing.  "They're beginning to suspect that something more than friendship is going on between you two, Ami," Margot said, "And if you don't cut the attitude, they'll figure it out sooner or later before you and Rowen are ready for everybody to know."  Ami looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap.

"Is it really that bad?" Ami asked, her voice no higher than a whisper.

"Yeah, it is," Julie said, "We don't mean to be so harsh, it's just that we know you guys don't want everybody to know yet, that's all.  We're just concerned about your secret.  We're looking out for you."  Ami sighed.

"I guess you're right.  I mean, Rowen and I don't want everyone finding out yet.  I'll try to act more normal from now on."  Margot nodded in satisfaction.

"Good.  I mean, can you imagine the commotion that would take place if everyone found out?  The entire household would never let you hear the end of it," Margot said.

"Yeah, lucky for us, now they won't," Julie said, "You'll start acting normal again and the suspicion will die away.  You two will be home free."  Ami smiled at the two sisters.

"Yeah, you two are right.  And as much as I love talking to you two, I have homework to do that I'd like to get finished as soon as possible."  Julie pouted.

"Ami, you don't know how to have fun," Julie said.  Ami looked at Julie and raised an eyebrow.

"You don't think I know how to have fun?  What do you call the things Rowen and I do?"  Margot and Julie both shivered and blushed to the roots of their hair.  "Ami, please," Margot said, "I didn't need that mental picture."

"Yeah, come on Ami, spare us, please," Julie pleaded.  Ami chuckled slightly.

"I'm just teasing you guys.  Now get out of my room so I can study," Ami said lightly.

"Alright, we're going, we're going," Margot said as she and Julie walked out of Ami's room.

"Bye Ami," Julie said as she closed the door behind her.  Ami sighed as the door shut; dealing with Margot and Julie always proved to be a tiring experience.  With one last glance at the door, Ami walked back to her desk and sat down to study.

***  
Much later that night and well into the early morning, the Ronin Warriors returned from their mission, ready to climb into bed.  All of them, save Rowen, walked into their rooms and went to sleep.  It was 2:30 in the morning and all of them wanted to sleep.  Rowen, on the other hand, walked into his room and into his closet, opening up the entrance to the secret passageway.  He smiled as he ascended the stairs that would lead him up to Ami's room.  It had been a long and tiring day for him.  He never liked going to the Netherworld.  For one, going there was a taxing experience on his power and two, time passed more slowly in the Netherworld and one day there was like a week in his world, which always managed to throw him off because when he arrived home, there was always something major that happened while he was in the Netherworld and he hated having to play catch up.  He silently opened the door to Ami's closet, mindful of the fact that it was 2:30 in the morning and Ami would probably be asleep.  As he made his way through her closet he noticed a sliver of light coming from underneath Ami's closet door.  Was she still awake at 2:30 in the morning?  Slowly and carefully, Rowen opened the closet door and peeked into Ami's room.  He smiled as he spotted her.  She was sitting at her desk, her head pillowed on her arms, fast asleep slumped over on her desk.  Burning the midnight oil, I see, Rowen thought as he walked into her room.  He moved over to her desk and pulled her chair out so he could lift her out of the chair.  Gathering her into his arms, he moved over to her big armchair and sat down in it.  Holding Ami in his lap, he took the time to just look at her.  She really was beautiful and she looked so calm when she was asleep.  Like all of the worry and stress that she holds during the day disappeared when she's asleep.  She looks just like an angel, Rowen thought as he held her.  He loved the feeling of her body in his arms and he realized then how much he had missed her while he was away.  Smiling at her sleeping form, he lightly ran a hand over her upper arm, caressing the soft skin, while moving in to deliver a kiss to the spot right below her earlobe.  He could feel Ami smile in her sleep as he slowly delivered a trail of kisses down her neck and across her collarbone.  "Mmm, Rowen," Ami sighed in her sleep, starting to wake up.  He inwardly smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands slipping underneath her shirt to caress the skin at the small of her back.  Ami woke up with a gasp as his fingers traced circles on her back.  "Rowen?" she said, her breathing labored, "Is that you?"

"Who else would I be?" he said in between kisses.  Ami smiled slowly and said, "I missed you, you know.  You were gone for a whole week and I was stuck here without you."

"I figured you would say something like that," Rowen said as he pulled away to look at Ami, "But, did you know that to you it was a week and to me it was only a day?"  Ami looked him in the eye.

"So, time passes by slower in that world than over here.  How interesting."  She looked at him and smiled, continuing.  "Well, that didn't make me miss you any less," she said seriously.  He looked at her and gave her a soft smile.

"I missed you too."  Ami scoffed at him and looked at him with a shocked expression.

"You were only gone for a day.  How could you miss me?"  Rowen shook his head at her and said, "I was missing you the moment I left and was missing you the entire time I was gone."  Ami gave him a look.

"Well, I was here for a whole week without you.  It was like my own personal hell.  Just promise me one thing," Ami said.

"And what is that?" Rowen asked.

"Don't ever leave me ever again."  Rowen smiled.

"I'll see what I can do," he said.  She smiled broadly at him before leaning over to kiss him.  He smiled inwardly and brought his hands up to cradle her face as he pulled her closer to him.  A flash of mischief brewing in his mind, he scooped Ami up into her arms, stood up, and carried her over to the bed, both of them laughing the entire time.  As he set her down, she was giggling uncontrollably and he had a huge grin on her face.  He lay down next to her and looked down at her.  "I missed you," he said.  Ami looked up at him and mock-glared at him.

"Oh, shut up and kiss me," she said, her voice filled with love and passion.  He smiled at her and complied.  From that moment on, there were no more words as the two lovers were united.

***  
Raye hummed merrily as she walked down the hallway to Ami's room.  She had to tell her that the guys had returned from the Netherworld.  That should cheer her up, knowing that Rowen is back, Raye thought as she remembered the conversation everyone had at the dinner table the night before.  It seemed to be what was bothering Ami, having Rowen gone.  Raye smiled as she envisioned the look on Ami's face when she told her the news about the guys' return.  She approached Ami's door and put her hand on the doorknob.  Turning it, she found that it was locked.  Her brow furrowed as she found that Ami's door was locked.  Hm, that's weird.  Ami never locks her door.  Guess I just have to go in through my bathroom, Raye thought shrugging.  She walked over to her own room and entered it, moving through it until she approached at her bathroom.  She walked through the bathroom that she and Ami shared.  She smiled; she knew that this door had to be unlocked because it locked from the inside of the bathroom.  Pushing the door open, Raye entered Ami's room with a large grin on her face.  "Hey Ami, guess…" Raye trailed off as she looked at the sight in front of her.  Her grin promptly fell and her jaw dropped open in surprise.  She couldn't believe what she was seeing.  In front of her were Ami and Rowen asleep in Ami's bed, the covers strewn everywhere, both of them only wearing a strategically-placed sheet and wrapped up in each others arms.  She looked around the room to see blankets and clothes everywhere and Raye nearly had a heart attack.  Sweet, innocent, little Ami in bed with Rowen?  Naked?  I can't believe it.  This is the last thing I ever expected to see in my life, Raye thought as her shock wore off, bringing a large smile with it.  With one hand placed on her hip, Raye chuckled slightly at the sight in front of her before loudly exclaiming, "OH MY GOD!  Wait until the others hear about this!"  Raye's loud words woke the sleeping couple up and before Ami and Rowen could say anything, Raye bolted out of the room the same way she came in.  "Oh shit," Rowen muttered as he and Ami rushed to get dressed.  At the same moment that Raye was running down the hallway to find everyone else, Julie and Margot were going the other direction down to Serena's room just to talk to her.  Looks of confusion spread over the two girls' face as they caught sight of Raye running down the hall like there was no tomorrow.  Margot turned around as Raye ran past them. 

"Hey Raye, where's the fire?" Margot shouted after the violet-black-haired girl.  Raye turned around, still moving the other direction, and said, "Go look in Ami's room.  That's where the fire is."  Raye wore a mischievous grin on her face as she turned to face forward and continued running down the hallway.  Margot and Julie looked at each other with dismayed looks.  "Uh-oh," they whispered to each other; they knew what Raye was talking about.  Julie was the first one to move.  She stormed off down the hallway towards the door to Ami's room.  She turned the doorknob, found that it was locked, and moved on to Raye's room.  "Hey, Julie, wait.  Don't you think they deserve some privacy?" Margot said, following Julie down the hallway.

"No," Julie said, "They got caught in Ami's room.  They said they were going to keep it down in the library and they broke that promise.  They don't deserve any privacy after that."  God, she shows no mercy, does she? Margot thought as she walked off after Julie as she stormed into Raye's room and through the bathroom to Ami's room.  When the two girls walked into Ami's room, they found Ami sitting up in bed with the sheet clutched to her chest and Rowen wearing boxers, searching the floor for their clothes.  Margot averted her eyes and tried to suppress the blush spreading up over her face while Julie marched farther into the room, settling herself on the edge of the bed, a look of fury on her face.  Looking Ami straight in the eye, who was trying her hardest to keep the blush from totally covering her face, Julie began talking.  "What were you thinking?" Julie asked simply.

"An excellent question," Margot said, turning her face to look at the others, now that Rowen was mostly dressed and Ami was working on it underneath the sheet.

"I don't know," Ami said after pulling on her shirt, "He came in into my room last night and I didn't even think about getting caught.  I was just too happy to see him after not seeing him for a week."  Margot and Julie both turned their gazes to Rowen, who was now sitting with his arms wrapped around Ami's waist.  Rowen suddenly panicked; it seemed that it was now his fault.

"And what were _you_ thinking?" Margot asked Rowen, who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"Yeah, what _were_ you thinking, Rowen?" Julie asked, "I mean, for you it was only a day.  You should have been able to have a little more self-control."

"Hey you don't…" Rowen started before realizing something.  "Wait," he said, "How did you know it was only a day to me?"

"What, you think we haven't talked to the other guys?  For your information, you two, it's 10:30 in the morning.  Everyone else is up except for you two.  We've already talked to the other guys about what it was like," Julie said.

"And, speaking of everyone else," Margot said, "Raye is on her way to tell the entire household about your new relationship and what you've been doing."  With that, both of the girls walked over to Ami's door and unlocked it, opening it.  Before they left, Julie turned and said, "Well, I hope you two are happy with what you did.  Because you'll never hear the end of it."  With that, the two girls left Ami's room, slamming the door shut behind them.  Ami and Rowen both groaned in dismay.  Rowen leaned back against the pillows and Ami leaned forward, her head in her hands.  "This is bad," Rowen muttered.

"This is really, really bad," Ami said in response.  Ami and Rowen looked at each other and said, "We're screwed."

***  
Ami and Rowen hesitated before entering the dining room that evening for dinner.  They had made it a point to avoid everyone in the household during the day to avoid any unnecessary teasing.  But they had to face the others; Ami and Rowen couldn't hide from their friends forever.  Looking at Ami, Rowen gave her hand a quick squeeze in support and reassurance.  Ami smiled at him before letting go of his hand.  They walked into the dining room and the room went silent as the two approached the dining room table.  "Well, well, look who decided to come downstairs today?  What were you two doing upstairs?  Nothing naughty I hope," Ryo insinuated.  Ami turned bright pink and Rowen glared at one of his best friends before sitting down at the table.  Rowen took a place in between Ryo and Kento while Ami took a seat across from Rowen in between Serena and Raye.  Lita also glared at Ryo and said, "Enough of that.  I will not tolerate any teasing at the dinner table."

"Sorry Lita," Ryo said, looking down sheepishly at his plate full of food.  As soon as Rowen and Ami sat down, dinner began in relative silence.  The air surrounding the dinner table was full with unspoken words.  Kento, who looked like he was going to burst if he didn't say the words that were on the tip of his tongue, said, "So, Rowen, when's the wedding?"  Rowen looked over at Kento, who wore a huge grin on his face, and glared at him.

"Kento, shut up.  I'm tired and I'm not ready to deal with you or your teasing," Rowen said quietly and menacingly.  Kento snorted.

"Well, I'm not surprised that you're tired.  I mean, with all the physical activity you and Ami have been doing."  Ami and Rowen both looked like they were going to kill Kento and Lita, who was sitting next to Kento, grabbed his ear and stood up, pulling him up out of his seat.  "Kento, come with me.  I need to talk to you for a moment."  Lita began walking out of the room, one hand holding an ear like a vice, with Kento being dragged along behind her, whining all the way.  All of the attention was focused on the doorway to the dining room, where everyone could hear harsh words being exchanged, followed by the sound of a very loud slap.  Lita walked back in to the room with Kento behind her, nursing a hurt cheek.  "Lita, that hurt," Kento whined as they sat back down at the table.  Lita looked over at him and looked him in the eye menacingly.

"Well, don't tease them and I won't hit you," Lita said as she turned back to her dinner.  Rowen and Ami caught each other's eye from across the table and Serena smiled widely.

"Aww, you two are so cute!" Serena squealed.  Ami flinched at the decibel level Serena had gotten up to and looked over at Serena pleadingly.

"Please, Serena, can we not talk about that?

"Why not?" Raye said, a huge smile on her face, "You two make such a cute couple."  Ami looked over at Raye with the same look on her face.

"Raye, all I want to do is eat my dinner and come out of it unscathed.  So, please, can we drop it?"

"Yeah, can we?" Mina said.  Normally, she would have been teasing Ami mercilessly, but she could sense that what was between Ami and Rowen was true love and that was something she didn't tease.

"I mean this is probably a really uncomfortable subject," Sage said, "So let's talk about something else."

"Good idea," Cye said.  The rest of the table, including Ryo, Kento, Serena, and Raye, agreed, leaving Ami and Rowen some peace.

***  
Although the gang had given up on Ami and Rowen that night, they hadn't given up on them permanently.  Well, Ryo, Kento, Raye and Serena hadn't given up.  Alex, Michelle, Mia, and Darien were too mature to tease Ami and Rowen about it.  They knew of the connection between the two and wouldn't tease Ami and Rowen about it.  Margot, Julie, and Celia had known since the beginning.  Lita, Mina, Sage, and Cye thought it better not to tease Ami and Rowen; they were getting a hard enough time from Ryo, Kento, Raye and Serena.  And little Heather found the fact that Ami and Rowen were together absolutely romantic.  Only two years younger, she still didn't quite understand what was going on.  But, what teasing Ami and Rowen didn't receive from most of the household, they received, in massive amounts, from Kento, Ryo, Raye and Serena.  It had gotten so bad that Rowen and Ami were ready to kill those four and being around them was unbearable.  One night a few days later, Ami approached Lita, who was in the middle of making dinner.  "Lita," Ami said, "I know you love having everyone at the dinner table and all, but Rowen and I can't stand the teasing we get.  So, the two of us are going out tonight to get something to eat."  Lita nodded in understanding and sympathy.

"I understand Ami and don't worry, I'm not offended.  The teasing is pretty bad, isn't it?  I've tried to talk to Kento about it, but he just continues to do it anyway.  And I'm sorry for it.  So, you and Rowen go out to dinner and enjoy yourselves.  I'm sure it will be a welcome break."  Ami smiled.

"You always were really understanding, Lita.  You're a great friend," Ami said as she started walking out of the kitchen.

"Bye Ami," Lita called out, "And have fun!"  Ami tossed a smile back before moving out to the front hall, where Rowen was waiting for her, his jacket on and hers in his hands.  She gave her lover a soft smile as he helped her into her jacket.  Holding his arm for her to take, Rowen said, "Are we ready to go?"

"Yes," Ami said with a sigh of relief, "And I'm so happy that we get a night off from the teasing."

"Yeah, it's definitely well-deserved," Rowen said as the two of them walked out of the door, arm in arm.

***  
Ami smiled contently as she rested in Rowen's arms.  The two of them were sitting on a park bench with Ami sitting on Rowen's lap, his arms wrapped around her.  She was leaning against his chest and was tracing invisible patterns on his forearm with the tip of her index finger.  He laughed slightly as her finger ran over the ticklish spot at the crook of his elbow and when she moved her head to look at him, he stole a kiss.  Ami sighed as he pulled away and snuggled up against him.  She felt so safe and loved inside his arms; she never wanted to leave them.  "This is nice," Ami said, "We had a nice dinner with no teasing."

"And now we're here, just enjoying each other's company," Rowen finished for her.  Ami smiled up at him and said, "I love you, Rowen."

"I love you too, Ami."  They shared one more kiss before settling in further on the park bench.  Both of them closed their eyes, just enjoying the feeling of being with each other, neither of them wanting the feeling to end.  Ami felt herself drifting off to sleep and Rowen was close as well when they hear a large crash.  Both of them immediately sprang to attention; they had a feeling that a fight was about to ensue.  Ami gasped in mild horror at the sight of the monster as the two of them rushed to their feet.  The monster was at least 10 feet tall and looked like a rather deformed werewolf.  Ami and Rowen quickly scanned the area around them for any civilians and, finding none, proceeded to transform.  "Power of the Artic!  I call upon the armor of the Artic.  Armor of the Artic, TO ARMS!"

"Armor of Strata!  ARMOR OF STRATA!  DAO INOCHI!"  Moments later, Rowen and Ami stood there in their armor, ready to fight the monster.  The monster growled and grinned, bearing a huge set of razor-sharp teeth, its eyes glowing a fierce shade of red.  Rowen and Ami looked at each other, nodding at each other, before assuming fighting positions.  The monster charged and, in order to slow it down, Rowen shot one of his golden arrows at it.  The arrow tip implanted itself into the monster's upper leg and slowed it down a little, but not much.  Ami then unleashed her attack.  She spread her arms out wide as ice, snow, and water surrounded her, forming a clear column of ice.  "RAGING ICE STORM FREEZE!"  She crossed her arms in front of her chest and shoved her arms down to her sides, the violence of the act breaking the ice column, sending it towards the enemy.  As whirls of ice and water, combined with Ami's power, hurled their way towards the monster, it saw the incoming attack and moved out of the way, the attack hitting its arm, freezing it immediately.  It howled in rage as the intense cold froze the arm all the way through and caused it to fall off, landing on the ground and shattering completely.  The monster looked like it was going to fall, but it kept coming for the two of them.  "Rowen, finish it off!" Ami said to Rowen.

"Right!" he said before drawing another arrow out of his quiver.  Placing it in his bow, he allowed his power to gather at the tip of the arrow.  "ARROW SHOCKWAVE!"  Rowen let go of the arrow as it flew towards the monster.  It yelled in pain as the arrow hit it in the shoulder, causing the immense column of power to come crashing down on it.  Within seconds, the monster was gone, leaving Ami and Rowen unharmed, if a little exhausted.  "I think it's time to go home," Ami said.

"No, maybe we should wait here.  Serena might have felt the monster and is probably on her way down here with the others," Rowen said.

"Good point.  We'll stay down here," Ami said.  They had been standing there wordlessly for a few seconds when they heard a loud whine.  Turning, they both saw Almandine, the general they had met a couple of weeks ago, throwing a small temper tantrum with an irate look on her face; she looked ready to kill.  "This is it!" Almandine yelled, "I have had enough of you little wanna-be warriors.  You destroy all of my beautiful plans to get rid of you.  You were supposed to die, but none of my lackeys seemed to be able to do the job.  Guess I'm just going to have to do it myself."  Her lips sneering into a vicious smile, she sent out an unexpected energy bolt that went straight for Rowen.  Caught off guard, Rowen went flying into the air and crashing into the bench that he and Ami had been sitting on earlier, smashing it to pieces.  Ami's breath caught in her throat as she watched the attack hit Rowen.  Letting out a yell of anger, Ami charged Almandine, only to get shocked by the shield that Almandine had crafted around herself as protection.  Rowen, who had gotten up, caught Ami before she could hit the ground.  After setting her on the ground, he said, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ami said, "And you?"

"I'll live," Rowen said, feeling a slight pain in his ribs.  Glaring at Almandine with a murderous glare, Rowen said, "How about we kill the bitch?"

"Sounds fine with me," Ami responded, her mind clouded with anger, just like Rowen's was.  Not knowing exactly what they were doing, they started up an attack, as if their minds were as one.  As Rowen took out one of his arrows and placed in the bow, Ami allowed her power to gather in a ball that was held between her hands, both of their eyes closed.  Almandine looked on with muted interest at the two; they hadn't done much in the last few seconds and she wondered if they had something up their sleeves.  Her eyes still closed, Ami let the power that was encased in her hands merge with the power that was gathering at the tip of Rowen's arrow.  The two of them continued to feed the arrow more and more power until they felt it was ready to let it go.  Their eyes snapped open and they looked at Almandine.  "Say goodbye, Almandine," Rowen said.

"You are going down!" Ami shouted.  The two of them took in a breath and, at the same time, shouted, "ICE ARROW!"  Rowen released the arrow, allowing it to land on the ground by Almandine's feet.  Almandine screamed as a combination of Rowen's Strata attack and Ami's ice attack scourged through her body, ripping her apart molecule by molecule.  "You'll never win!" were Almandine's final words before she died from the force of the power that had been sent at her.  As the power residue faded, Ami and Rowen could see all of the other warriors standing there with amazed looks on their faces.  "Wow," Serena breathed and everybody barely heard her, she was so quiet.  Celia was standing there with her usual impassive look and Margot and Julie had big smiles on their faces; they were proud of Ami and Rowen.

"How long have you guys all been standing there?" Rowen asked.

"Long enough to see that amazing attack," Sage said.

"That is one of the most powerful things I've ever seen," Darien said, a look of awe on his face.

"Well," Ami said, "I highly doubt Rowen and I could have done it without the knowledge of our feelings for each other."  Serena, Raye, Ryo, and Kento's faces all fell at that remark.

"Look," Kento said, "We're really sorry for teasing you two."

"Yeah, we feel really bad," Ryo said.  Ami smiled and Rowen said, "It's ok, you guys.  You're forgiven."

"Just don't do it any more," Ami said, shaking a finger at the guilty party of four.

"We promise," all four of them said at once.  The whole group detransformed. 

"Well," Cye said, "Seeing how there's not much of a fight here anymore, how about we all head on home?"  
"That sounds like a good idea," Mina said, joining Cye as he started walking away.  Ami and Rowen shared a knowing look; Mina and Cye were too perfect for each other, just too cute for words.  "They really need to get together," Ami whispered to Rowen as they too started walking away, Rowen putting his arm around Ami's shoulder.

"I know, but give them some time.  I'm not sure about Mina, but Cye is really bashful and gets embarrassed really easily.  He's also a romantic at heart and is waiting for the perfect moment to tell her that he loves her," Rowen responded in an equally soft tone of voice.

"He loves her?" Ami said, looking up at her soulmate with surprise and joy, "That's perfect because Mina is in love with Cye."  Rowen smiled down at Ami.

"Well, then we're just going to have to wait until they get together then, aren't we?  Because there's nothing we can do that will get them together besides wait."

"Good idea.  Besides, it's nice to see the relationship progress," Ami said.  Rowen was about to say something in response, but was interrupted by Alex.

"So, I guess Almandine won't be bothering us anymore," Alex said, a smile on her face that conveyed how proud she was of Rowen and Ami.

"Yeah, you two really took care of her with that power of yours; Almandine didn't stand a chance," Michelle said, coming up to walk by Alex's side.

"I guess she didn't," Rowen said and Ami nodded in agreement.

"Well, what triggered that attack?" Mia asked, joining in on the conversation.

"I honestly don't know," Ami said, "All that I know was that I was mad at Almandine for hurting Rowen."

"And I was mad at her for hurting Ami."

"Well then, duh!" Julie exclaimed.

"Yeah, I mean, it's obvious.  The attacks were triggered by anger," Margot said.  The 5 looked at the two girls speculatively and Celia came to their rescue.

"They have a point.  That's how most of your armors and your attacks came to you; anger is a powerful emotional tool and it takes powerful triggers to unlock most of our powers," Celia said wisely.  The 5 let the knowledge soak in as the group continued to walk home.  Margot and Julie high-fived each other.  _Saved by Celia_, the two of them said to each other at the same, smiles on their faces.

***

"That twit!" Queen Metallia yelled across her throne room, contemplating the death of Almandine.  "How dare those miserable warriors get one of my generals killed?  And how dare one of my generals lose to those pathetic soldiers?"  A growl growing deep in her throat, Metallia yelled, "HELIODORE!"  The three remaining generals were standing by Queen Metallia's side and Heliodore, with blonde hair floating behind her, moved over to Metallia and bowed.  "Yes, my Queen, you called for me?  Heliodore's green eyes were sparkling with hopefulness; she hoped that Metallia would pick her to destroy the Universal Warriors.

"I want you to pick up where Almandine left off."

"Yes, your majesty, it would be my honor."

"And I expect results from you, Heliodore.  Not like that good-for-nothing Almandine."

"I will not let you down, my Queen."

"Good. Dismissed," Metallia barked out, sending Heliodore away with a wave of her hand.  Heliodore straightened her body and walked past Labradorite with a smug look on her face.  She was throwing it in Labradorite's face that Queen Metallia had picked her instead of Labradorite.  Labradorite looked ready to kill Heliodore as she walked by.  You'll never pull it off, you bitch.  And then it will be my turn to shine, Labradorite thought before she and Cairngorm were dismissed by Metallia.

************

Hi guys!  I have to apologize – I know it's been somewhere around two weeks since my last update.  I can only say that I've been rather busy with homework and all that lovely stuff!  Anyway, I hope you all aren't too upset and all over the long break.  I promise to try to update a bit more regularly, but I can't vouch for how frequent updates will be over the holidays.  Hopefully, there will be another chapter out during Thanksgiving, ok?  But don't count too hard on it – I've got several papers and tests to do on break and I'm making Thanksgiving dinner again by myself this year, which is a rather large task in and of itself.  Alright, happy holidays!  ~DestinyBabe


	12. The Death of a Warrior

Part 11: Death of a Warrior

-February 10th, 2000-

Sage was a nervous wreck.  At that current moment in time, he was wringing his hands, pacing back and forth in front of the door to Raye's room, muttering to himself.  Anybody who looked on him for only a second without knowing him really well would come to the conclusion that he was crazy, not incredibly nervous about something.  "No, that won't do," he whispered to himself, "That'll sound like I'm insane."

"How about just saying 'I love you' and telling her all the things that you love about her?" a voice inside his head told him.   A smile lit up on his face as the thought popped into his head.  That's perfect.  I'll go in there and say that I have something to tell her and that it's really important, he thought.  He took a deep breath and stopped his pacing, moving towards the door.  

As his hand was poised to knock, he wondered again why he was even doing it.  Because you're envious, that's why, Sage told himself.  A few days ago, he spotted Ami and Rowen sitting on the couch in the living room.  He had his arm around her and her head tucked under his chin.  She was resting up against him, tracing patterns on one hand while his was in the process of stroking her hair.  They were talking about something that Sage didn't understand and when Ami was in the middle of a sentence, Rowen snuck in a kiss, which lasted quite a few seconds.  Sage had never seen Rowen look so happy and found that he was not jealous, but simply envious.  He wanted a relationship like that and he wanted it with Raye.  That is was possessed him to tell her that he loved her.  But, there was something that was holding him back and it was the thought of her laughing in his face and rejecting him.  A part of him wanted to keep his feelings a secret, but the other part of him told him that if he didn't tell her, his life would be filled with regret that he never did tell her.  I need to make a choice.  Do I tell her or do I not tell her, Sage thought as he ran a hand over his face.  

He made up his mind and went over to knock on her door.  He heard a muffled, "Come in," coming from Raye before he opened her door and walked in.  He found her sitting on her bed in jeans and a tank top, brushing her long, wet hair and having great difficulties.  "Having problems?" he asked as he shut the door behind him.  Raye turned, mid-stroke, to look over at him.  "Oh, hi Sage and, yes, I'm having problems."  Sage walked over to the bed and climbed onto it, kneeling behind Raye as he took the brush from her hands and started brushing her hair for her.  "Thanks," Raye said, "As much as I love having long hair, I hate it when it's wet.  Sometimes I just want to cut it."

"Don't ever cut your hair," Sage said, horrified at the thought, "It's way too beautiful to cut."  Raye blushed to the roots of her hair, which went unnoticed by Sage, and said, "You really think my hair is beautiful?"

"Yes, I do," Sage said sheepishly, "And it would be a shame to cut it."  Raye chuckled a little.

"Well, then, I won't cut it.  I would hate to disappoint you."

"Thank you," Sage said, "That's a relief."  Raye laughed again and Sage smiled down at her.  He looked down at her as he brushed her hair.  From his bird's eye view, he could see the gentle sloping of her chest from above the neckline of her tank top and he nearly choked on his own breath.  Coughing slightly, he tried his hardest to avoid blushing in case she looked up at him.  

After a couple of moments, he finished brushing her hair and handed Raye back the brush.  "There you go," he said, "All finished."

"Thanks," Raye said, "I greatly appreciate it."  Raye got up and put her hairbrush on her dresser. 

"So," she said, "Why did you come down here?  I mean, I don't think you came to see me to brush my hair, although I'm very grateful for that."  By the time that Raye sat down on her bed again, Sage had already made himself comfortable on it.  Raye settled herself right next to Sage and looked at him expediently, as if waiting for him to say something.

"Well," Sage started out, trying to eliminate the butterflies in his stomach, "I came down here because there's something important I wanted to tell you."  Raye's face took on a look of genuine concern and she laid a hand on his knee comfortingly, urging him to continue.

"Well, Raye, you see, we've known each other for over a year and a half now.  We've been through a lot together and we've seen a lot of things.  In this time, we've gotten really close, to the point where I feel I can tell you anything.  I guess what I'm trying to say…"  

Suddenly, the door burst open to show a breathless Serena.  "Hurry up you guys.  There's an attack in the middle of the park.  It's a big one.  We're going to need everyone for this one."  Raye rushed to her feet and was out of the room in an instant.  Sage felt disappointed create a pit in his stomach, but he found quickly that there was no time to dwell over it.  As Serena said, there was a monster attack and part of the mental oath he swore as a Ronin Warrior was to protect the Earth from any evil that may harm it.  

He leapt off the bed and ran out of Raye's room, several seconds behind Raye.  I'll just have to tell Raye that I love her later, Sage thought as he transformed into his sub-armor mid-stride.  Little did he know that he was running towards the fight of his life.

***

Once the Universal Warriors showed up on the scene, everyone was fully armored and ready to fight.  The group of warriors was taken aback for a second at what they saw.  They saw an army of hybrids, monsters that were a crossbreed of youmas and Dynasty soldiers.  Who ever sent those after the Universal Warriors was trying to play with their minds by bringing back enemies that Talpa had sent after them when he was working with Metallia.  

The group of 18 warriors fought quickly and expertly.  All of them, save Julie and Margot, had fought against the hybrids before and it was nothing new.  Margot and Julie found them to be no challenge whatsoever and proceeded in destroying all the hybrids that came across their path.  The battle only lasted about 10 minutes, where the Universal Warriors managed to destroy 200 hybrids.  They found that their powers were increasing all the time.  A year ago, the Universal Warriors wouldn't have been able to pull off destroying 200 hybrids.  Now, it was like nothing.  

A throaty laugh from above them alerted them and they looked up to see one of Metallia's female generals, her long blonde hair floating above her as she descended to the ground.  "I must say, quite an impressive show you all put on there.  I don't think I've introduced myself yet.  My name is Heliodore, your destroyer."  Heliodore was smiling until her gaze settled on Raye, whereupon it settled into a look of rage.  "You!" she shouted at Raye, "You bitch!"  For no apparent reason, Heliodore sent out a very strong and very powerful energy blast at Raye.  Raye was frozen with fear.  

"Raye!  Watch out!" Sage called out as he ran towards her, pushing her out of the way, getting hit by the blast instead.  Raye, who was dazed from hitting the ground hard from the force of Sage's push, looked up just in time to see Sage getting hit by the powerful, even mortal, blow.  For Raye, time crept along, prolonging the painful experience of watching Sage fall to the ground in a crash of armor.  Heliodore, who suddenly seemed to be ashamed of what she had just done, looked on the scene with a gasp before disappearing all together.  

Tears of pain filled Raye's eyes as she cried out.  "NOOO!" she yelled as she rushed over to him.  Her heart seemed to be pounding its way out of her chest as she knelt beside him.  She could see Sage fighting to keep air moving in and out of his lungs and she could do nothing as his life slipped away.  One lone tear made its way down her face and she felt a sharp jab of déjà vu.  The same thing had happened three years earlier with Chad and she was damned if she was going to let it happen again.  She took off his helmet, setting it on the ground, and tenderly pushed aside his hair so she could see both closed eyes.  

"Sage?" she said softly, "Can you hear me?"  Slowly, he opened his eyes to see his angel looking down at him with tears in her eyes.  "Don't cry," he said weakly, lifting a gloved hand to pick up a tear as it carved a track down her cheek.  That simple action only made her tears flow faster and stronger.  Sage could feel his life slipping away, but he didn't want to go without doing something first.  "Raye," he whispered, lifting both hands to remove her helmet, which allowed her hair to tumble off the top of her head and fall over her shoulder.  "There's something I want to tell you…" he continued.

"No, don't say it.  You're going to be okay, I know it.  Just hang on," she pleaded, almost sobbing.

"No, I have to say this," he said insistently.  Raye looked into his lavender eyes and saw all the love that he held for her in them.  

Sage raised his hand to cup her cheek as he continued to speak.  "Ever since I met you, you have been so nice to me, so open.  No one has ever shared so much with me before and I never got to tell you how much that meant to me that you did that.  Raye, I…"  Raye waited for what he was going to say next when she realized that he wasn't breathing anymore.  "No," she murmured, "No, please, don't go.  You can't.  I never got to tell you…" she said, choking on a sob.  

Around her, the other warriors had gathered.  Serena was sobbing in Darien's arms; Ami and Rowen were holding onto each other, comforting each other over the loss of a friend; Mina and Lita were hugging each other, as were Alex and Michelle; Celia had her arms wrapped around Heather; Ryo held onto Mia as she cried; Cye and Kento were standing by themselves, tears running down their faces; and Margot and Julie were holding onto each other as they cried for their new friend.  Swallowing her tears, Raye whispered, "I never got the chance to tell you how much I love you."  She allowed her body to be taken over by sobs as she keeled over onto Sage's chest and began to cry.

***  
The entire group of warriors watched with pain-filled gazes as Raye sobbed.  _We have to do something_, Margot told Julie as she looked at Raye, her heart constricting with grief.

_This wasn't supposed to happen.  He isn't supposed to die, Margot.  There has to be something we can do to bring him back_, Julie responded.  Margot nodded and the two started thinking.  After many mind-wracking moments, the two of them came up with an idea.  Together, they pried a grief-stricken Raye away from Sage.  "What are you going to do to him?" Raye asked.  Margot looked at her comfortingly and said, "We're going to try to bring him back."  Raye's eyes went wide.

"Do you think you can do it?"  Margot and Julie looked at each other hopefully.

"We sure hope so," Julie said, "But in order for us to try, you have to be out of the way."  Raye nodded; she would do anything to get Sage back, even if it meant staying away from him forever.  

All of the Universal Warriors, even Celia, watched with anticipation as Margot and Julie stood on either side of Sage, clasping hands, forming a two-person circle.  They closed their eyes and gathered their power.  They only reason why they thought what they were going to do was even going to work was because Sage wasn't supposed to die and they had the power to fix mistakes that went against Destiny and/or Fate.  The Universal Warriors watched as Margot and Julie began to glow, the colors of their powers merging together, creating a spectacle of blue-green, burgundy, copper, and gold light.  The entire group was amazed as the light spread over Sage like a blanket, swirling around him like thousands of atoms spinning around him at once.  

A few moments later, the light show ended and Margot and Julie collapsed onto the ground, both of them breathing hard from the effort.  "It's done," Margot said.

"If that didn't work, then there's no hope," Julie finished.  Raye pushed Julie aside so she could look down at Sage, her eyes full of anticipation and hopefulness.  Once again, time seemed to freeze as she watched for any signs of life.  Her heart leapt up into her throat as she saw his eyes twitch slightly.  "Sage?" she asked softly.  He groaned softly in pain and opened his eyes.  "Raye?" he asked as his gaze focused on her.  She nodded and moved back so he could sit upright.  

The entire group was relieved to find Sage alive.  Raye, with a cry, threw her arms around Sage and, to the best of her ability in her armor, hugged him.  Sage returned her hug and held her as she cried.  Margot and Julie smiled weakly at each other before Alex and Michelle walked over to help the two of them to their feet.  "Good job," Michelle said as she helped Julie up.

"Yeah, that was amazing," Alex said as she pulled Margot to her feet, "Thank goodness you two were here."

"It was nothing," Margot said with a dismissive wave of her hand, leaning against the taller girl.

"Yeah," Julie said, "It's all in a day's work."  Alex and Michelle only rolled their eyes at Margot and Julie; sometimes those two were impossible.

***  
Later that evening, Sage once again stood outside of Raye's door.  This time he was going to tell her that he loved her.  He had been given a second chance and he was going to take full advantage of it.  If not for Margot and Julie, he would have been dead.  But, thanks to those two, he was still among the land of the living.  

Without even knocking, he opened Raye's door and walked in to find Raye lounging on her bed.  "Hey Raye, can I talk to you?" he asked hesitantly, testing the waters.  Raye looked up at him, her eyes calm and emotionless.

"You know what, Sage, I really don't feel like talking right now.  Can this wait until later?"

"Yeah, I guess so, but…"

"Well, then, good night Sage," Raye said, dismissing him with no more than a second thought.  His heart sinking to somewhere around his toes, Sage said, "Alright, good night Raye."  He left her room and shut the door behind him.  As he walked up to his own room, he felt a single tear roll down his cheek and he realized what that dreadful feeling in his heart was: he was being ignored by Raye and it hurt more than anything in the world.  And the worst part was that he didn't even know why.  

*************

So, a little trouble in paradise!  So, the weekend's not yet over, so I'm fulfilling my promise to update during the holiday weekend.  My grandfather's house doesn't have very good internet, as opposed to my room, so I couldn't get online to post.  Hope you enjoyed – if you're confused as to why Heliodore went after Raye the way she did, its because Heliodore and Sage were engaged in the Silver Millennium, but he fell for Raye instead.  Needless to say, she's a vindictive little piece of baggage.  Well, will Raye and Sage end up together?  We shall see in the next chapter: Heliodore Meets the God of Death.  Till then, be nice and review!  Thanks!  ~DestinyBabe


	13. Heliodore Meets the God of Death

Part 12: Heliodore Meets the God of Death

-February 26th, 2000-

Sage sighed as he watched Raye from afar.  She was sitting in front of her temple, by herself, eating lunch.  Why is she ignoring me?  What did I do to her that made decide to not talk to me all of the sudden? Sage thought with his heart in his throat.  For the last two weeks, Raye had made it a point of ignoring Sage, going out of her way to not talk to him at all costs.  Sage didn't understand.  Their relationship had been going so well up until the point of Heliodore's first attack and he'd been killed by her.  

Ever since then, not only had the Universal Warriors been bombed by attacks from Heliodore's monsters, Raye had pointedly ignored Sage and pretended like he didn't even exist.  And when she did talk to him, her words were cold and emotionless, like she felt nothing for him, which couldn't be further from the truth.  

As Sage watched Raye, Raye could feel his eyes on her and longed to be with him.  Tears came to her eyes.  She wanted to be with him so bad.  But, if I go and be with him, he'll just end up leaving me again.  Like Chad and Grandpa did.  I don't think I could handle losing Sage as well.  It's best for him that he just stays away from me, Raye thought with a heavy sigh.  A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks at the thought of never being with Sage, but she put a stop to those tears quickly; she didn't want to be caught crying by anybody, especially Sage at that moment.  

Sage watched Raye for a few more moments before turning his back to her and walking away.  He couldn't be near her any longer; it just hurt him too much to know that she had turned him away for no apparent reason.  He wandered through the forest until he reached the lake and found that Julie and Margot were sitting on the dock, also eating lunch.  Julie spotted Sage first and waved him over.  

"Sage!" she yelled, "Over here!"  Sage smiled slightly at the younger twin and walked over to the two.  "Hey Sage, how are you doing?" Margot asked as Sage sat down.  Sage considered his next words carefully, but decided to just tell them how he felt.

"Not too good, actually."  Both girls had looks of confusion and worry on their faces at his statement.

"Why?  What's wrong?" Julie asked.  Sage sighed.

"Well, it's Raye.  She's ignoring me.  Ever since the day we first met Heliodore, she's gone out of her way to ignore me and pretend like I don't exist.  And the sad thing is that I don't understand why she's doing it.  If I knew, then maybe I could fix it."

"Sage, you can't fix it because it doesn't have to do with you," Margot said, sighing.

"What do you mean?" Sage asked; did these two know something that he didn't?

"Well, if you didn't already know, then we'll tell you," Julie said, "You've heard about Chad, right?"  Sage sighed with frustration.  "YES!" he said with a groan, "You don't know how much I hate that guy.  The guy's been dead for over two years and it still feels like he's alive.  It's like I have his shadow hanging over my head."  

Julie, in an opportunity to mock Sage yet again, stood up and examined the area over his head.  "Nope, shadow free.  You've been spared for the moment, light-boy.  It seems you spirit buddy, Chad, has flown the coop."  Sage's eyes narrowed.

"Har har Julie," Sage muttered, "Very funny."

"Aww, does someone have a case of the grumpies today?" Margot said in a sugary-sweet voice.  Sage stood up with a growl and said, "Well, if you're going to make fun of me, then I'm leaving."  Sage started to walk away and Julie grabbed his hand.  "No, don't go Sage.  I'm not finished telling you about Raye and her situation."

"Yeah, and lighten up Sage," Margot said, "You need to learn to loosen up a little bit because before you know it, you'll start losing hair."  Sage's hand, in a protective gesture, automatically flew up to his hair, as if he was worried it was going to start falling out at any moment.  

Sage looked down at Margot, who was patting the empty space on the ground next to her.  "Come on, sit down," she said coaxingly.

"Yes," Julie said, "Let Aunt Julie and Aunt Margot tell you what you want to know."  Sage eyed the two suspiciously.  "Have you two taken your medication today?"  Julie and Margot both giggled.

"What medication?" Margot asked, "We're perfectly and normally sane."

"Right, perfectly and normally sane, my butt," Sage said as he sat down in between the two girls.  I don't know how they talked me into this, Sage thought with a sigh.

"Anyway," Margot said once Sage was settled, "Back to being serious."

"Wow!  You being serious?  I think I may have a heart attack!" Sage said sarcastically.  Julie glared at Sage.

"Hey, we're trying to help you.  If you don't want to know why Raye is ignoring you, then you can leave us to our wonderful food and be gone."

"No wait!" Sage said, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it.  You left yourself wide open and I just had to say something.  I really am sorry.  Please, help me."

"Oh, alright, but only if you promise that there will be no more smart-ass comments from you," Margot said.

"I promise," Sage said.  

"You better," Julie said, "Anyway you want to know why Raye is ignoring you, don't you?"  Sage nodded.

"Good," Margot said, "Well, simply put, Raye is ignoring you because she thinks she's cursed."

"What does that mean?  Why does the think she's cursed?" Sage asked.

"Well," Julie said, "Think about it.  Every guy that Raye has loved has died on her: Chad, her grandpa, and then you, but you were brought back to life."

"She probably figures that if she stays away from you, then you'll stay alive.  She cares about you too much to let you die on her again," Margot finished.  

Sage was extremely quiet as he mulled over the information.  How much did she care about him?

"Am I going to die?  Will she be hurt again?" Sage asked, concerned for Raye's emotions and well being.  Margot and Julie looked at each other.  _Do we tell him?_ Julie asked Margot.

_I suppose so.  I mean, in this case, it would be doing more good than bad._

_So, we tell him,_ Julie said and Margot nodded.

"No," Margot said, "You're not going to die.  Not for a really long time at any rate."  Sage smiled; so maybe there was hope for him and Raye after all.

"And if you want to tell her that you love her," Julie said, "then you're going to have to force her to listen.  She's really stubborn, as you know, and once she gets an idea in her head, it's hard to get it out.  So, she's probably not to listen to you at first.  But, if you continue to push, she'll listen eventually."  Sage nodded and stood up.

"Well, thanks for the advice.  I guess I'll see you two later."  
"Where are you going?" Margot asked.

"Are you going to talk to Raye?" Julie asked after Sage.  Sage smiled and he looked over his shoulder at them as he walked away.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out."  Margot and Julie only growled at Sage's retreating figure, who was laughing all the while.

***  
Sage, once again, was a nervous wreck.  He stood, hidden behind one of the many trees that surround the small temple.  In his light-of-sight stood Raye, who was practicing Tai Chi, her body moving in slow, calculating moves, sweat gleaming off of her bare arms and shoulders.  

When he walked away from Margot and Julie, he was confident and felt that nothing could go wrong.  But, in the space of about 20 minutes, the butterflies had managed to multiply in his stomach and Sage felt like he was going to pass out.  How was he supposed to force Raye to listen to him?  Coming up with no plan, Sage decided to improvise.  

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he strode out of behind the trees and walked for Raye.  Surprisingly, she didn't see or sense him coming and jumped when Sage called out her name.  "Look Sage, I don't want to talk right now.  Just leave me alone."  She started to walk away, but Sage grabbed her by the arm and spun her around to face him.  "Ok, but just let me say this one thing and then I'll leave you alone if you want me to.  I promise."  Raye sighed.

"Alright, but just this one thing."  Sage smiled and paused before he began, suddenly more sure of himself than ever before.  Sage took in one last deep breath before he began.

"I love you."  Raye blinked in surprise before attempting to pull her arm away from Sage's tight hold.  She didn't know if she wanted to hear what he had to say anymore.

"Let me go, Sage.  I don't want to talk to you."  Sage's grip on her arm tightened, if possible, and he fixed a soul-piercing gaze on Raye that made her freeze.

"No, you said you would hear me out.  Well, I'm not finished.  I love you so much.  And, as much as I hate to admit it, I need you like you would never believe.  I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you; without even knowing you, I gave you my soul.  I love you so much that I would do anything for you.  I love everything about you from your sense of humor to that cute way your nose twitches before you sneeze.  There is nothing I wouldn't give to be with you and to have you push me away hurts.  I don't know if you understand how much it hurts me.  I don't know what I did, but if you tell me, I just might be able to fix it."  Raye started at Sage with tears forming in her eyes.  She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, but she couldn't endanger him.

"You don't want to be with me," Raye said, her voice quivering as she tried to hold back tears.  "If you be with me, you'll only end up getting hurt.  I'm cursed, Sage, I really am."  Raye couldn't hold back her tears anymore and she started crying, her tears running down her cheeks.  "Every guy I've ever loved has died on me.  I don't think I could bear it if you died again."  

Raye began pounding her fists against Sage's chest, but her sobbing had left her weak and her actions were futile.  "I love you too much to have you die on me again.  And I hate the influence you have on me because there's nothing I can do to keep myself from falling in love with you more and more everyday.  I…"  Raye was abruptly cut off as two hands grabbed her wrists and Sage's lips captured hers in a passionate kiss.  

Sage could taste the salty tears on Raye's lips as the two kissed; Sage knew he could never be with anyone else as long as he lived.  Raye savored the feeling of Sage's lips on hers because she knew that it would be the only time that she would ever be able to feel it.  Abruptly, she pushed Sage away, shocking him greatly.  "I-I can't," Raye said, "You'll just end up dying.  Good-bye Sage."  

Raye turned to walk away, still crying, but Sage, once again, grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.  His other hand gently tipped up her chin so he could look into her eyes.  "I'm not going to die on you, Raye."  Raye gasped unbelievingly.  Was he telling the truth?

"How do you know?" Raye asked.  Sage smirked.

"Let's just say that I have it on the highest authority that I'm not going to die."  At Raye's confused look, he explained further.  "I asked Julie and Margot and, seeing as how they know almost everything about the future, I think I can trust them.  They wouldn't lie to me about this."  Pulling Raye closer, he said, "Besides, with you with me, how could I leave?"  Raye smiled through her tears as Sage kissed her once again.  His arms came to wrap around her waist and Raye's hands rested on Sage's chest as the two of them kissed.  They were so absorbed in each other that they didn't hear the soft click.  Margot smirked as she put away the disposable camera that she kept on her at all times.  "Blackmail," Julie said softly in a singsong voice.

"Yup," Margot said, "We already have a really cute picture of Ami and Rowen asleep in one of the chairs in the living room.  All we need now are cute pictures of Lita and Kento, Mina and Cye, and Ryo and Mia."

"I wonder when those couples will get together," Julie mused.

"All in good time, Julie, just be patient," Margot said.  Julie sighed.

***

"NONONONONONONO!  You can't make me go in there!  You can't!  You can't!"  Michelle looked at Alex and rolled her eyes at her significant other's temper tantrum.  Alex looked at the pair of glass sliding doors with disdain and fear, as if they were a deadly viper, posed to attack.  "Come on Alex," Michelle said, "You need to get a dress for our upcoming concert."

"But Michelle," Alex whined, "It's scary in there with all the lace and frilly stuff and ribbons and…ah, hide me from the horror!"

"Alex, stop acting like a baby.  They're just dresses; they won't bite.  Now, in you go."  With that, Michelle gave Alex a stern push through the double doors and into Alex's hell: a women's department store.

***  
An hour later, Alex emerged from the store less than thrilled and in a sour mood.  On her face was her best and most pitiful wounded puppy dog look.  Clutched in her hands was a single bag with a dress that Michelle insisted looked fabulous on her.  Although it was a simple midnight blue dress, Alex still insisted that it was too frilly.  "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it Alex?" Michelle said simply.  Alex turned to glare at Michelle.  "If you ever make me go in there again, I swear, I'll demolish the place."  Michelle sighed; she knew Alex wasn't serious enough to destroy a women's department store, her worst enemy.  "Alex, I love you and everything, but I just don't get you sometimes."   Alex opened her mouth to respond when a loud snort filled their ears.  

They looked at each other with confusion and turned to look at the source of the bull-like snort.  Their eyes widened with surprise at the sight of the monster that was in front of them.  It greatly resembled a fire-breathing dragon that stood on its hind legs.  It stood about 9 feet tall with deep purple scales.  Alex's bag dropped to the ground as Alex and Michelle both dove out of the way of a long stream of fire.  Alex smiled as she watched the monster's fire ignite her bag with the dress she just bought.  Well, well, looks like this monster was actually good for something, Alex thought with a smirk.  

All thoughts of the evil dress pushed out of her mind, Alex pulled out her communicator that she still carried around with her and paged all of the other Mystical Warriors, not bothering to look whether anyone would respond or not.  "You guys, there's a monster attack in downtown Tokyo; your help could be greatly appreciated."  With that, she put the communicator away and transformed.  "Power of Earth!" Alex cried out.

"Power of Seas!" Michelle yelled.  They then both transformed into their armor and assumed flawless fighting positions.  They began fighting the monster, trying to stab it with their weapons, hoping to weaken it by the time the others arrived.  The two warriors were currently having a hell of a time.  With only two of them, one with a short-range weapon, hitting the monster was out of the question.  

Alex dove in again, her daggers ready to strike, but she was easily blocked by the monster, who pushed her out of the way with its tail.  Alex flew through the air and landed on the hard asphalt, sliding back a few feet.  She let out a growl; she was getting extremely mad at this particular monster and she would normally use her attack on the monster, but to use her attack would be like setting off a bomb.  If Alex used her attack in the middle of downtown, she would destroy half of it.  Prudence was required with using her attack.  And a wide berth of about a half a mile, Alex thought bitterly as she pushed herself up from off of the ground.  

As her eyes focused on the battle scene, Alex saw Michelle stab at the monster with the spokes of her trident.  The monster growled in annoyance and shifted its attention to Michelle, leaving Alex a perfect opportunity to move in and attack.  Alex flew in and buried one of her daggers in the monster's side, right underneath the creature's arm.  It howled in pain as Alex pulled the dagger out and stepped away from it.  "Michelle, use your power.  It's safer than mine."  Michelle nodded in understanding.  It wasn't that Alex was saying that Michelle was weaker; although Michelle's power was every bit as strong as Alex's was, Michelle's was safer to use in an enclosed area.  

Michelle readied herself to use her power and Alex turned back to the enraged monster.  Immediately, she froze.  The monster, in its pain filled rage, was expressing it by howling loudly and spewing fire.  Alex watched wordlessly as the monster lit all of the trees that lined the sidewalks on fire.  The monster locked its gaze on Michelle through its pain and it swung its tail violently.  Michelle was defenseless.  She was in the middle of attacking and had no way of protecting herself from the monster's tail.  Michelle wasn't hit too hard by the swinging tail, but her trident was knocked out of her hands and flew through the air, landing several yards away.  

Michelle instinctually dove for her trident, but was stopped as the huge monster stepped in between her and her weapon.  Michelle's eyes widened in horror and surprise as she realized that she had no way of getting to her trident.  The monster closed in on Michelle, ready to do some serious harm.  "Michelle!" Alex yelled as the monster prepared to strike Michelle down.  The scene surrounding them had turned into a fiery pit, with many trees that were ablaze surrounding them.  Just when it seemed when all hope was lost, two voices called out.  "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

"RAGING ICE STORM FREEZE!"  Suddenly, the fires were snuffed out in the assault of Ami and Cye's water attacks.  The monster looked taken aback as it was suddenly faced by 16 more warriors.  

Serena stepped forward from the back of the group and, giving it a little knowing smile, held her staff out in her hands and used her attack.  "MOONLIGHT VANQUISH!"  A bolt of light in the shape of a crescent moon made its way towards the monster, killing it immediately.  

Serena smiled a wide and genuine smile at Alex and Michelle.  "Hey guys, sorry we're late.  It took a little bit to get here."

"No problems, the point is you made it to save our butts," Alex said.

"Yes, and we thank you," Michelle said gratefully, after picking up her fallen weapon.  

"Was that the only one?" Mia asked, "Are there more?"

"No," Michelle said, "That's the only one that attacked us."  The entire group of warriors stood in the middle of downtown Tokyo in contemplation; there seemed to be no point to that monster.  It didn't have as much power as the previous ones and seemed to have no purpose.  

The Universal Warriors were brought out of their contemplation by a throaty female laugh.  "Perfect; it appears that my plan to lure you all here worked like a charm."  The warriors watched as Heliodore appeared right in front of them, wearing a malicious smile, one strand of blonde hair wrapped delicately around her index finger.  Raye growled, "Heliodore, what are you doing here?"  

Heliodore's sights fell on Raye and her smile widened; she seemed to hate Raye more than anyone out of the Universal Warriors.  "My, my, what a big temper you have," Heliodore said sweetly.

"Yeah, all the more better to kill you with," Raye barked.

"Now, there's no need to get upset.  No need to jump the gun.  Attacking me now will only make me hurt you more when I destroy you."

"And what makes you think you'll be able to kill us, Heliodore?" Sage asked, standing next to Raye, who had pushed her way to the front of the group.  Heliodore smirked.

"From the sole fact that I am stronger than you.  Besides, I've already killed one of you before.  It shouldn't be that hard to do it again."  At Heliodore's words, one could see that behind the mask of superiority and arrogance a hint of shame lingered.  

But, Raye didn't pick up on that and she charged for Heliodore, her fire power gathering in between her cupped hands.  "FIREBIRD FLARE!" Raye cried out, sending a firebird headed in the general's direction.  It hit Heliodore before she could react.  Heliodore screamed.  She took a few steps back, clutching a wounded arm that had been scorched by Raye's attack, and glared at Raye.  "Ooh, you'll pay for that!"  With a frustrated yell, Heliodore let out her own attack.  

The force of the attack hit Raye, sending her flying into the air, crashing to the ground in a heap of armor.  "Raye!  NO!" Sage yelled as he watched his love go flying through the air with not the greatest of ease.  His anger deepening, he faced Heliodore with murder resonating in his eyes.  "I'll get you for that," Sage said lowly, his voice no higher than a hoarse whisper.  

He charged the general, his sword clenched in two hands, and raised his sword over his head to attack.  He brought his sword down to strike her with and was met with a power shield in the shape of a sphere that surrounded Heliodore perfectly, protecting her from Sage's wrath.  She had her head bowed, her eyes purposely avoiding looking at him.  Sage continued to bring his sword down on the shield, trying his hardest to break it so he could get to the person inside.  Slowly, she raised her head and looked into Sage's eyes.  Sage froze at the look in her eyes.  Heliodore looked almost…  Apologetic, Sage thought.  

Giving him a small smile, Heliodore whispered tenderly, "I'm sorry, Sage."  His eyes widened in surprise at her gentle tone and there was nothing he could do as she raised her hand so that her palm was facing Sage.  With nothing more than a mere thought, a blast of energy came out of her palm, which sent Sage through the air.  He landed on the ground with seemingly minimal damage and when he got up, he looked at Heliodore, only to see the compassionate look vanquished and the cruel and dangerous look back in its place.  "I say we get the bitch," Raye said, moving to stand besides Sage.  Sage looked down at her with concern.  

"Are you all right?  Are you sure you should be fighting her still?"  Raye smiled at him softly.

"Yes, besides, I have to get her for what she did to you."  Sage smiled back and together, they turned to face Heliodore.

"Heliodore, you're going down!" Raye yelled.  Sage only smiled at Heliodore with a knowing smile.  All the other Universal Warriors just watched as Raye and Sage turned towards each other, preparing for their attack.  Raye and Sage's gazes met and together, they were brought back a thousand years to a different world…

***  
Prince Sage looked down at his sleeping princess who, not five minutes earlier, was in his arms.  I really don't want to go, but if anyone catches me, I'll be dead.  If news of this reached my father, I'd be dead and he'd blame me for ruining his peace treaty because my engagement to Heliodore will have been broken off.  Not that I care about her anyway.  She thinks we're in love, but I don't love her back.  For me, it is just a marriage of convenience.  The girl I love is the one I'm looking at right now, Sage thought as he looked down at Raye.  

She was wearing a deep purple, silk negligee; her normal nightwear, she said.  It managed to cover everything while still alluding to the figure underneath.  The loose-fitting material was held up by two, thin straps and Sage noted that when she stood up, they seemed to strain under the weight of the silk.  He smiled as he stretched out on the bed again, this time on top of the covers, and draped on of his arms over her waist, pulling her closer to him in the process.  He sprinkled light kisses on her shoulder and neck, which caused Raye to start to wake up.  

She moaned lightly as she felt Sage's kisses through her sleep-muddled mind.  She slowly opened her eyes and turned around in Sage's arms.  She saw his fully dressed form and pouted slightly.  "You leaving?" she asked quietly.  

"Yeah," Sage said, equally as soft.

"Why?" Raye asked.  Sage smiled slightly and kissed Raye.

"You know why I have to go," Sage said, "If anyone catches me here, I'll never be able to see you again.  I don't think I could bear never seeing you again."

"Oh, ok.  I understand.  I know what you're risking by being with me.  I'm also risking the same.  If anyone ever found out about us, there's no telling what could happen.  Besides, I wouldn't want to get Jedite mad.  He would kill you with no problem if he found out what was going on between you and me and I don't think I could live with you dead."  Giving Sage a tear-filled smile, Raye kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck to the best of her ability while lying down.  Sage kissed her back as passionately as she was kissing him.  His love for her seemed to know no bounds; he loved her more with each passing day.  

She ended the kiss slowly, aware of the need to get Sage out of her chambers before he was discovered.  Together, they got out of bed and Raye walked Sage to the door, holding onto his hand the entire way.  They stopped when they arrived at the door that lead out to the hallway where all the rest of the Sailor Scouts' chambers were located.  Sage turned his back to the door and looked down at Raye, one of his hands cupping her cheek.  He leaned over to deliver one more kiss, his fingers tangling themselves in her long, raven-colored hair.  Raye's arms rested on Sage's hips as they kissed and they were both in heaven.  

When they finally parted, Raye whispered, "I love you."  Sage smiled tenderly.

"I love you too," he said before opening the door and slipping out into the hallway, making his way back to his unused chambers.  Raye smiled as she leaned against her door.  She loved him so much.  And it wasn't all the secrecy of the matter.  Oh, yes, of course, the fact that no one knew about it, not even her fellow Sailor Scouts, made her experiences with Sage all the more passionate.  But, she truly did love him.  They had so much in common and she could talk to him for hours about everything and nothing.  She couldn't do that with Jedite or any of the others girls.  

She wished almost every day that she could break off her engagement with Jedite, Sage would break it off with Heliodore, and the two of them could be together without the worry of everyone else finding out.  She banished all thoughts of her and Sage's separate fiancés as she thought about the feeling that came from being in Sage's arms and receiving his kisses.  Smiling at the warm feeling inside of her, she practically floated over to her bed and lay down on it again, her thoughts fully focused on Sage.

***

To Sage and Raye, the experience of traveling back in time and seeing their past seemed to take many minutes when, in fact, it had only been a second in the real world.  Everyone watched, waiting to see what would happen.  Raye and Sage turned away from each other, both facing Heliodore, and Raye knelt on the ground in front of Sage as he removed his sword from its sheath, gripping the hilt in both hands, both of their eyes closed, focused on their power.  

Raye raised her hands into the air, her wrists touching and her palms facing heavenward, and her power, in the form of flames, started to gather in her open palms.  Sage, at the same time, was pouring all of his power into his sword, power crackling around his sword like lightning.  Slowly, he lowered his sword so that the tip of the blade rested in Raye's palms, combining with the power that was already there.  

The combined power grew in its intensity, reaching blinding levels.  Before looking at it became unbearable, Raye and Sage shouted, "LIGHTNING FLAME!"  

With those two words, a combination of lightning and fire, mixed with Raye and Sage's natural power, hurled towards Heliodore, who thought she was safe behind her shield.  But, the fire, which was surrounded by lightning, easily broke through Heliodore's shield.  

With a scream, Heliodore was killed, disintegrating from the power of lightning and fire.  Once Heliodore was gone, Raye got up off the ground and her and Sage detransformed into their sub-armor.  Immediately, Raye began fussing over Sage.  "Sage, are you ok?  You're not hurt?"

"No, Raye, I'm not hurt," Sage said.

"Are you sure?" Raye asked, checking for wounds or signs of weakness, "I mean, she hit you pretty hard a couple of seconds ago.  You went down pretty hard.  If she hit you any harder she would have…"  Raye was cut off as Sage did the only thing he could think of to stop her tirade: he kissed her.  Raye melted into the kiss, savoring the feeling of her lips on his, while the rest of the Universal Warriors, minus Margot, Julie, and Celia, looked on in surprise at the kissing couple.  

When they pulled away, Sage smiled and said, "Raye, we have got to work on those little tirades of yours."  Raye smiled back.

"I don't know, you seem to have a good way of dealing with them," Raye said, her eyes sparkling with mirth.  Sage only chuckled at Raye and turned to look at the rest of the Warriors, their expressions all that of dumbstruck.  "Well, I guess the secret's out," Raye said as she too looked at the rest of the group.  Rowen, who had detransformed into his sub-armor as well, walked over to Sage, a smile on his face.  "Congratulations, Sage.  I'm really happy for you.  I mean it looks like you got your memories of the Silver Millennium back and you got the girl you love.  I couldn't be happier for you; really, I couldn't."  Sage smiled at Rowen as his best friend turned to Raye.

"And Raye," Rowen said, "If you hurt him, I have every right to hurt you, understand?"  Although Rowen's words were serious, the smile on his face gave it away.  Raye smiled back and said, "You have nothing to worry about, Rowen."  Rowen nodded.

"Good," Rowen said, "Now, can we get home?  Ami and I were in the middle of a really good movie and I kinda wanna get back to watching it."

"No," Sage said, "You just want to get back to your making-out session."  Rowen glared at Sage and smacked him on the side of the head.  Sage laughed.  "Ooh, I got you, didn't I?" Sage said

"And to think that I came over here to tell you that I was happy for you.  I shouldn't have even bothered," Rowen said.

"Aww, Rowen, you're just too sensitive," Sage said as he, Raye, and Rowen walked over to the rest of the group.  "So, do we go home now?" Darien asked.  The rest of them nodded and fully detransformed.  As they were walking, Michelle suddenly realized something.  "Oh God!  Alex, your dress!  The monster destroyed it!"

"Yeah, and lucky for me, it did," Alex said, "And Michelle, no matter what you say, I just don't think that I was made to wear a dress.  So just forget it."  Michelle only glared at her true love.

***

"We haven't done this in a long time, have we?" Kento asked as he and the other Ronin Warriors sat in a circle on Ryo's bed.

"No, not since Julie and Margot arrived," Sage said.

"Yeah, too much risk in getting caught and video taped," Ryo said.  Rowen sighed.

"Those two are trouble makers to the extreme." 

"Yeah," Cye agreed, "Like the little episode with the shower.  That was so not cool."

"But, we have no physical proof that they did it," Rowen said, "Though it has their names written all over it."

"Ah, I get it," Kento said, "We don't do this anymore because there's a chance that Julie and Margot could be waiting outside this door with a tape recorder, recording all of our words."

"Yup," Sage said, taking a sip of his soda.  

"Hey Sage," Cye said, "Why aren't you with Raye?  I figured that seeing how this is your first night together, you two might spend it together."

"Yeah," Rowen said, "I did with Ami."  Sage looked at Rowen with a hint of a smile forming on his face.

"Rowen, you spent your first night with Ami on the couch in the library, having sex."  Rowen shook his head.

"No, we didn't have sex, we made love.  There's a definite difference."  Sage rolled his eyes.

"Well, sorry for using the wrong terminology," Sage said sarcastically.  

"Hey about that," Ryo said, "I wouldn't expect Ami to be so forward as to sleep with you right off the bat."  Rowen snorted.

"Well, you don't know Ami that well then.  I swear, underneath that somewhat shy and prudish behavior is a little minx.  I won't say anything else.  But, Sage, you didn't answer Cye's question.  Why aren't you with Raye?" Rowen asked.

"Well, we would be spending time together, but she has that girls-night-out with the others and it's something that she's been planning for a while."  Cye smiled.

"You know Sage, you really are lucky.  I do envy you for what you have with Raye.  I wish I had something like that with Mina."  

"You'll have something like it someday," Sage said,

"And when you get it, it'll be wonderful," Rowen said, "Being in love is the best thing."

"What's it like to be in love?" Ryo asked.

"Well, you're already in love with Mia, so you know what it's like to be in love," Rowen said, "But to be in love and know that the other person loves you back and to be able to tell that person that you love them…that's a different story."

"Yeah, it's like there's this barrier that disappears," Sage said, "And you feel this sense of…"

"Freedom," Rowen said with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Man, that's not fair," Kento said, "I wish I knew what that felt like."

"You'll have your chance with Lita soon enough, Kento," Rowen said.  

"Are you so sure?" Kento asked.  Rowen and Sage looked at each other with knowing looks; they had seen how Lita acts towards Kento and that it was only a matter of time before the two hooked up.

"Yes," they both said at the same time.

"How do you know?" Kento asked; he didn't understand how Sage and Rowen could be so certain.

"Well," Sage said, "We just know."  Kento only shook his head as he dismissed Rowen and Sage.  

"Well," Ryo said, "We haven't had a guys night in a while.  I say we actually do something instead of sitting around here and doing nothing."

"How about we go out to a movie," Kento said, "There's this really great one I want to see about these aliens who try and take over the world and this guy has to save it."

"Ah, the story of our lives," Cye said, "Well, I'm up for it."

"Yeah, that's sounds pretty good," Ryo said, "Come on, let's go."  Sage and Rowen wordlessly agreed as they all got off of Ryo's bed and began getting ready to go to the movie. 

********

Hi! So, everything is all pretty as Raye and Sage finally end up together!  Yay!   So . . . who wants to take a stab at who next chapter's couple will be???  Four chapters . . . three couples left!  And one large battle, naturally.  Someone's got to kick Metallia's behind from here to eternity.  Ok, review and take a guess as to the next couple.  I'll hopefully have a chapter up by Thursday, but I've go a concert on Weds and two rehersals Monday and Tuesday for it . . . not to mention I need to work on my solo for it a lot!!!!  EEP!  Hope to hear from everyone!  : ) ~Des


	14. The Second Date An Even Bigger Disaster

Part 13: The Second Date An Even Bigger Disaster

-March 25th 2000-

Kento watched as Lita sashayed herself about the kitchen, humming to herself as she gathered baking materials.  She had told him earlier that she was going to bake up a storm in the kitchen and that his help, as always, was requested.  Of course, Kento couldn't say no and, having nothing to do on that March Saturday, agreed to help Lita.  Kento really didn't mind it at all, actually.  He loved being around Lita, except for the butterflies in his stomach that always managed to sneak their way in when he was with her.  For some reason or other, he was nervous around Lita when the two of them were by their selves.  It's because I'm in love with her that I get nervous, Kento told himself as he watched Lita dance her way over the side of the kitchen where her cooking base was.  

"Ok," Lita exclaimed loudly, "I think I have everything I need to make my ultimate chocolate-chip cookies!  Butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, chocolate chips, sugar, brown sugar, baking power, and, most importantly, flour.  Couldn't do anything with out it."  Kento smiled at Lita and said, "You know what, you're really cute when you get ready to bake your heart out, did you know that?"  Lita looked at Kento and turned an interesting shade of pink at his comment.

"No, I didn't.  Thanks for telling me."  Kento smiled broadly.

"No problem," he said with great bravado.  Lita giggled at Kento before turning back to her ingredients.  Kento just gazed at Lita, his eyes full of love and reverence.  I really should tell her how I feel about her.  I should at least ask her out.  Well, that's what Margot and Julie told me, anyway, Kento thought to himself.  

The night before, he had stumbled upon Margot and Julie, who were lounging around in the family room on the second floor.  He had been on his way up to his bedroom after going out with the guys; he was the only one who was heading upstairs.  Sage was spending time with Raye, Rowen was spending time with Ami, and Cye and Ryo were headed out to do some training.  Kento really didn't feel like joining Cye and Ryo, so he decided to head upstairs, where he ran into Julie and Margot.  They called him over and they had a long talk where he ended up spilling to them how much he loved Lita. He asked them what he should do and they told him to at least casually bring it up, like asking her out.  He felt a little better after the talk, but he was still nervous.  He still needed to find a way to bring it up.  He just decided ad-lib it.  

He pushed himself off of the island that he was leaning against.  He walked over to Lita, who was in the middle of mixing ingredients in a large bowl.  "So," he said, peering over her shoulder, "Whatcha making?"

"Didn't you hear?" Lita said, "I'm making chocolate-chip cookies."  Taking a dab of flour out of the bowl, she smeared it on the tip of his nose and said, "Duh," for emphasis.  His eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips.  "You do realize that this means war," he said quietly.  Lita giggled with a disbelieving look on her face.

"And what?" she said, "Are you going to pelt me with flour?"

"Exactly," Kento said before taking a small handful of flour out of the container and smearing it all over Lita's face.  Lita looked shocked and taken aback for a few seconds before she said, "Oh, you're asking for it, buster."  The two of them started frantically throwing flour at each other, covering themselves and the floor surrounding them until they were white as ghosts.  Kento picked up the huge, now half full, flour container, and made like he was going to dump it over Lita's head.  Lita's eyes grew as wide as saucers as she saw Kento pick up the flour container.  She immediately bolted out of the kitchen, heading down into the pantry to get more supplies.  

She emerged from the pantry about a minute later, holding a full bag of flour, but Kento was nowhere to be found.  She knew he had to be in the kitchen somewhere; he wouldn't abandon her during a flour fight.  But, she didn't know where he was hiding and the not knowing brought on a deep sense of fear and dread; he could pop out at any time.  "Kento," she crooned softly, calling out for him, "I know you're here somewhere.  Come out, come out, wherever you are."  

Her eyes scanned the kitchen, looking for signs of the boy she loved.  She was totally unprepared for what happened next.  Out of the middle of nowhere, it seemed, a voice cried out, "BANZAI!" and Lita went crashing down to the floor with Kento on top of her.  It turned out that Kento had been hiding behind the island and jumped out right when he saw Lita.  The flour fight ended abruptly as the two struggled to catch their breath, but neither made a motion to get off the floor.  "Banzai?" Lita asked, "Why did you call out the name of a tree?"  
"It's not the name of a tree," Kento said, giving Lita a look, "It's a warrior's call before going out into battle."

"And it's also the name of those tiny trees."  Kento sighed in frustration.

"Would you rather I called out 'Geronimo'?" Kento asked as he looked down at Lita.  Lita blanched and said, "The name of an Indian?  I don't think so."

"You are one hard woman to please, did you know that?"

"Yup!" Lita exclaimed.  Kento and Lita looked at each other, a slightly uncomfortable silence falling over the two of them for a moment, and Kento said, "God, we have flour everywhere."

"Yeah," Lita agreed, not thinking about her words before she said them, "I think I even have flour down my shirt."  At Kento's shocked expression, Lita grimaced and said, "I shouldn't have said that."  Kento only shook his head and chuckled at the girl underneath him.  "What?" Lita asked, studying Kento's face.

"You have this really funny smudge of flour underneath your eye," Kento said with a loving gaze.

"Where?" Lita asked.

"Right here," Kento said, pointing to where it would be on Lita.  Lita took it as if Kento was telling her through mirror image.  "Did I get it?" Lita asked, wiping off the wrong side of her face.  Kento shook his head and said, "No, let me get it."  He brought up a hand to wipe off the flour and leaned in closer to see it better.  

As Kento's face neared her, Lita was suddenly very aware of how close they were at that moment.  She could feel the length of his body pressed up against hers and the feeling of his breath and fingertips on her cheek as he concentrated on wiping the flour off of her face.  Smiling, Kento raised his head a little bit to look Lita in the eye.  "There, I got it," he said.  Lita only nodded her thanks as the two of them looked at each other, in what seemed like a trance.  Neither one of them could break eye contact and they didn't want to.  Slowly, Kento lowered his lips until they were mere millimeters from Lita's lips.  He froze like that, waiting for a sign on Lita's behalf that she wanted it as much as he did.  For a moment, there was no movement, just the sounds of the two of them breathing.  Then, Lita made her move.  

She tipped up her face so that her nose brushed up against his and their lips met, finishing a kiss that was started over a year and a half ago.  The kiss grew in passion and as the kiss grew, the more deeply involved the two were in each other until something was triggered inside of them and they were brought back 1000 years ago to a fateful day, much the same as the present one, yet different all in its own ways…

***  
Prince Kento of Hardrock was diligently patrolling the royal gardens of the Wildfire kingdoms (AN: which is located in present day France).  Security around the palace was especially tight with the presence of the Moon family and the Moon family's royal guards for the wedding of Prince Ryo and Princess Mia.  The presence of the Moon family's royal guards was greatly appreciated by the Ronin Warriors and the Warlords, who were in charge of protecting Prince Ryo and his family.  The Sailor Scouts, who were the Moon family's royal guards, were helping the Ronin Warriors and Warlords with the protection of three royal families, Princess Serena's family, Prince Ryo's family, and Prince Darien and Princess Mia's family.  

At that moment, it was Kento's shift to patrol the gardens with the help of Princess Lita.  He didn't know where she was, but it was probably best that he didn't.  "She seems to have a problem with me.  I don't know what it is.  Maybe I shouldn't have called her 'babe' when I first met her…hmm, I guess that's it."  As he rounded a high hedge, he bumped into a figure.  He took a few steps back and his eyes focused on the figure that he bumped into.  "Well, speak of the devil," he said.

"HEY!  Watch where you're going!" Lita shouted.  Kento smiled good-naturedly; for all her temper, she was still beautiful.

"Hey, kid, how ya been?"  Lita practically screamed.

"OOH!  I am not a kid!  I am 21-years old, for goodness sake.  Why can't you get that through your thick skull?   God, it's like someone removed your brain in the middle of your sleep and replaced it with a hard rock."  Kento's hand tightened around his naginata (AN: it's a bo) and he growled.

"Watch what you're saying about Hardrock, miss lightning princess.  Do you even know what my power is?"

"No; why don't you enlighten the class, oh wise teacher," Lita said with a sneer.

"I come from the Hardrock kingdom and I am the heir to that throne.  My power is Hardrock so watch what you say about it!" Kento yelled.

"Oh, sorry for insulting your precious power," Lita mocked.

"You better be…KID!" Kento said, knowing how much she hated being called kid.

"OOH!  Stop calling me kid!  How many times to I have to tell you?"

"Well, then if you're 21, then when's your birthday?"

"December 5th," Lita said proudly.

"Well, you're still three months and 4 days younger than me, so I CAN call you kid if I want to."  

"You retarded bonehead!" Lita yelled at Kento.

"My, my, what an explosive temper you have there, kid," Kento said, not noticing that Lita was starting to give off electric sparks of static electricity.  Lita poked him none too gently with her index finger, shocking him greatly.  "Is that explosive enough for you?"  Kento growled again and said, "This time, you're going to get it."  Kento lunged for Lita, dropping his weapon and sending the two of them to the ground.  Lita fought back and, soon, they were wrestling each other on the grass.  

They weren't paying attention to the ground surrounding them and they were both shocked when Lita hit her head rather hard on Kento's naginata.  Immediately, they stopped wrestling and Kento looked down at Lita, who was underneath him.  "Oh god, are you ok?"  Lita shook her head, holding the spot where she bumped it.  Kento got off of Lita and helped her to her feet.  "Here, let me see," Kento said, turning Lita's head so he could examine the wound.  

He moved her hair out of the way, looking for signs of bleeding.  He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when he saw that there was no blood, only the signs of a bump and a bruise.  "You're ok.  There's no bleeding, but you'll have a bump.  Do you want to sit down or something?" Kento asked, concerned.  Lita was really surprised at how sweet Kento was being.  She shook her head in response to his question.

"No, I just need to calm down for a minute," Lita said.  Lita then noticed that Kento hadn't removed his hand from her hair.

"You know what," Kento said, "I'm really sorry for what happened.  If I hadn't been trying to annoy you, this wouldn't have happened.  It's all my fault."

"No," Lita said, "It's my fault for overreacting.  Don't put the blame on yourself for something you didn't even do."  

"Well, I'm sorry anyway," Kento said with a tenderness in his voice that made Lita's heart skip a beat.

"You're forgiven," Lita said softly.  They looked at each other for a scant number of seconds before, for some unexplained reason, their lips met with a kiss.  Lita indulged in the feeling of his lips on hers before the memory of her fiancé popped into her mind.  

She pushed herself away from Kento and said, "No, I can't.  I'm engaged to Nephrite.  It's not right."

"I know.  I'm engaged to Almandine.  We shouldn't have done that."  Their eyes met again and their lips soon after.  It was like they couldn't keep away from each other.  Slowly, they sank down to the grass underfoot and there were no more words spoken for a long while.

***  
Back in the present time, Kento and Lita were still kissing on the floor, totally oblivious to anything and everything around them; they were too wrapped up in each other to pay attention to the real world.  In fact, they were so wrapped up with each other that they didn't hear the sound of the kitchen door opening and two sets of footprints quietly making their way into the kitchen.  

Margot and Julie were on the search for a snack and instead of finding an empty kitchen with food, they found a kitchen that had food, but also had a flour-covered Lita and Kento kissing on the kitchen floor.  _We see a lot of kissing lately, don't we?_ Margot asked Julie.

_Yeah.  I sorta wished I had something like that for myself_.

_I know what you mean_, Margot said in response.  The two of them looked at the kissing couple for a moment before Julie turned to Margot and said, _The__ camera?_

_The camera_, Margot said, pulling out the small camera that she had become accustomed to carrying around with her everywhere she went; one never knew when a photo-op would appear and one needed to always be prepare because those pictures could be used as blackmail.  Margot took the picture of Kento and Lita in a passionate embrace and put the camera away.  

As quietly as they could, Julie and Margot snuck out of the kitchen, leaving the couple alone and in peace.  "Well, there goes another couple.  And this time I'm only slightly annoyed at it.  I'm hungry and I can't get food!" Margot exclaimed.

"Well, we can always get food later," Julie said, "Besides, we've been waiting for the couples to get together and it was only a matter of time before those two got together."  

The two girls were walking down the hallway away from the kitchen at the same time that Rowen was walking towards the kitchen.  He was whistling something happy sounding and he had his hands shoved in his pockets while he walked.  "Hey Rowen," Margot said, "You're in a happy mood.  Any reason for it?"

"No," Rowen said, "I just woke up in a happy mood today."

"Where are you headed?" Julie asked.

"To the kitchen to get something to drink."

"NO!" Margot and Julie exclaimed at the same time.  Rowen's brow furrowed in confusion.

"And why can't I go to the kitchen."

"Because…" Julie trailed off, trying to find a reason.

"Because it's a mess.  We were just in there and it's too messy to do anything in there," Margot said, picking up where Julie left off.  Rowen shrugged.

"Well, I really don't care.  All I want is a clean glass so I can get some water.  I'm sure I can find a clean glass somewhere in that kitchen.  Besides, it can't be all that messy.  Lita would never allow her kitchen to become a mess."  Rowen walked on ahead, shrugging off Margot and Julie's warnings like they were nothing.  

"They're about to be disturbed," Julie said, leaning against the wall and slapping her forehead with her hand.

"Yeah, and Rowen is going to get a kick out of this," Margot concluded.  They just stood there, waiting for all hell to break loose.  Rowen walked into the kitchen, still whistling the same tune as before.  His whistling was cut off mid-blow as he spotted the kissing couple on the floor.  "Well, well, if it isn't the new pair of lovebirds!" Rowen exclaimed.  Kento and Lita broke apart, scared out of their minds by Rowen's seemingly sudden presence.  The two stood up from off of the floor.  Rowen raised his hands in defense.

"Oh, don't stop on my account.  I just came in here for a glass of water.  You can go back to making out if you want to.  I won't mind."  Lita and Kento knew by Rowen's tone of voice that he was teasing them.

"Rowen, leave," Kento said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, Romeo, I'll be out of here in a minute," Rowen said, grabbing a glass from the cupboard.  He walked over to the sink and nearly slipped on the flour that covered the floor.  Kento noticed.  It would serve him right, Kento thought.

"Whoa, why is there flour on the floor?" Rowen asked as he filled up his glass with water.  He glanced over at Lita and Kento and noticed that they too were covered in flour. 

"Oh," Rowen said, "You got in a flour fight.  Aw, how cute."

"You know, you can leave at any time," Lita said with an annoyed tone of voice.

"Oh, I'll be out in a minute.  And then you two can recommence kissing.  It will be like I was never in the room."

"Too late," Kento muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Kento?" Rowen asked.

"Nothing," Kento said, trying to hurry Rowen out of the kitchen.

"Oh, ok then," Rowen said, holding his glass of water in one hand, "I guess I'll see you later."  Rowen walked out of the door and before he disappeared completely, he said, "Have fun and don't get into too much trouble you two."  

Rowen chuckled to himself as he walked down the hallway and Kento glared at the door, his eyes practically burning holes in the wood.  Snapping out of it, he turned to Lita and said, "Sorry for that interruption.  I guess Rowen is getting back at me for when I teased him about him and Ami."  Lita smiled and pressed her body up against Kento's, giving him another kiss.

"It's alright.  All that matters is that he's gone now."  Kento smiled; he didn't think he could stop smiling if his life depended on it.  He was just way too happy at that moment.  Lita wrapped her arms around Kento's neck and pulled him in for another kiss, one that lasted far longer than the previous one.  Kento was the one to break the kiss.  

Tucking a strand of her loose hair behind her ear, he said, "Hey, I know that this is a little backwards and everything because normally the first kiss comes after the first date, but since I know you're not doing anything tonight, do you want to go out?  I mean, the rest of the house can fend for themselves with dinner.  I want to have time that's just you and me with no possible interruptions."  Lita looked at Kento through her eyelashes and she smiled slightly.  "That would be wonderful.  I would love that."  Kento grinned widely and said, "Great.  Well then, let's clean up our mess and then get back to those cookies."

"Sounds like a plan," Lita said as the two of them worked on cleaning up the kitchen.

***  
In the Negaverse, Cairngorm was thinking.  Those Universal Warriors must be strong if they destroyed Heliodore.  But, did they destroy her because she was weak or because she slipped up?  It could very well be the second one, considering this is Heliodore we're talking about.  But, how do these warriors keep coming up with this sort of blind luck?  It's like something is on their side, aiding them through it.  Or, what if it's right that's on their side?  What if their intentions are the right ones and Queen Metallia's are wrong?  Well, I really don't care either way.  I'm only in this to be with Labradorite.  

Gods, I love her so much.  It's the only real reason I'm here on Metallia's side.  Maybe if I get rid of those blasted warriors, then Labradorite and I can live in peace without Metallia ruling our actions and lives.  As it is now, Labradorite and I barely get time to spend with each other.  If I destroy the Universal Warriors, then maybe, just maybe, Metallia could let Labradorite and I go off on our own and we could truly be together, Cairngorm thought.  With a smile on his face as he considered the type of future that he could have with Labradorite, he came up with a plan.

***  
Lita breathed in the night air, just content to enjoy her surroundings.  She and Kento were still out, but now they were going out on a walk through the park.  Lita looked over at Kento, noticing that he had made himself look a little nicer than he usually did for their date.  She did too.  After cleaning off all of the flour, she had changed into a long emerald green skirt with a simple black blouse to go with it.  Kento, on the other hand, was wearing khakis and a nice, midnight blue silk shirt.  

They had gone out to dinner at a nice sushi restaurant, where they had stayed for 2 hours, and now they were in the park, just enjoying each other's company.  The two held hands while they walked and were just content with the comfortable silence that existed between the two at the moment; there was no need for words when one was in love.  Throughout the entire evening, Kento was trying to find the perfect opportunity to tell Lita how much he loved her because he felt that she needed to know.  His opportunity opened up when Lita spoke.  "It's really beautiful out tonight, isn't Kento?" Lita said, expecting a response from Kento, looking at him expediently.  Kento smiled.

"Yes, it is.  But not as beautiful as you."  Lita blushed and smiled.  They stopped walking as she leaned over and kissed him.

"That was really classic, did you know that?"

"Yeah," Kento said, "But I mean it.  There's nothing that's more beautiful than you."  Lita's blush deepened. 

"You know," she said, "I don't think my face will ever go back to its natural color if you keep complimenting me."  Kento chuckled slightly and turned towards Lita.  

"But what if I don't want to stop complimenting you?"

"Why would you compliment me?" Lita asked.  Kento drew in a deep breath and was about to tell her how he felt about her when a bright light flashed and a beam of energy flew past their heads, missing them by a few feet.  Kento and Lita sprang to action.  Both of them transformed into their sub-armor, using the heightened senses that came from it to search the area around them, which was shrouded in semi-darkness.  

A deep laugh sounded from behind them and they turned to see what it was.  "Well, well, you finally noticed me," the voice said, "I'm surprised.  I thought that you all had a sense for when we arrived."

"No, not all of us," Lita said, trying to make out the figure.  She was guessing it was human, but she couldn't be sure.

"Well, no matter.  I finally got your attention, which was hard to do considering the fact that you two were so wrapped up in each other."  Cairngorm finally recognized the two people in front of him, remembering them from his life during the Silver Millennium.

"Ah, Kento and Lita.  I see you two are still together, even in this lifetime.  You're lucky that Almandine still isn't alive, Lita.  It would kill Almandine to know that you still ended up with her fiancé."

"What are you talking about?" Kento asked, "I've never been engaged to be married in my life."  Cairngorm dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand.

"It doesn't matter anymore because you'll be dead soon enough.  It's nothing personal.  You're deaths mean nothing to me."

"Then why do you want to kill us?" Lita asked.

"Because then, and only then, can I live a life with true love.  It's your existence that's preventing the two of us from leading a happy life together and I've come down to fix that.  Now, die!"  Cairngorm sent out another blast at the two, who both dodged and transformed.  "ARMOR OF HARDROCK!  DAO GI!"

"I call upon the armor of Lightning!  Armor of Lightning, TO ARMS!"  Within seconds, the couple stood in their armor, weapons poised to attack, both of them ready to fight.  "LIGHTNING SWORD STRIKE!" Lita called out, using her sword to channel her lightning energy, sending it towards the male general.  Cairngorm easily dodged it, moving so fast that it seemed to be that he disappeared and reappeared 3 feet from where he was originally.  

Cairngorm laughed.  "You're going to have to do better than that if you're going to defeat me," he said cruelly.  Lita gritted her teeth and clenched her sword in one fist as she took in his mocking words.  Cairngorm chuckled slightly before sending off another attack without any warning.  The blast hit both Kento and Lita, sending both of them flying backwards.  They both crashed to the ground at about the same time and both slid back several feet, creating deep grooves in the dirt surface from their armor.  

Kento pushed himself up to look at Lita.  "Are you ok?"  Lita forced her eyes open, but she didn't move; she could feel the beginning of bruises all over.  "Yeah.  How about you?" she asked.

"I'll survive."  He pushed himself off the ground and to his feet.  Kento then leaned over and offered Lita his hand so she could get up.  She took it gracefully and rose to her feet.  "I say it's time to get rid of him," Kento said.

"Couldn't agree more," Lita said.  Cairngorm raised an eyebrow in interest at Lita and Kento.

"So, I see you're standing up for yourselves.  Or do you just want more of a beating.  The second one can be easily arranged, you know."

"Not in this life time, Cairngorm!" another voice cried out.  Lita and Kento turned to see Serena, Michelle, Sage, and Ami, who came to serve as backup.  Ami was the one who called out to Cairngorm and she was glaring at him.

"Ah, Ami.  So nice to see you again after all these years.  You look well.  I see the last 1000 years has treated you well."

"Well, considering that I haven't been alive for all of it, thanks to you, I really haven't been through much.  But you, Cairngorm, are about to go through so much more than you put me through back then."  Everyone was staring at Ami with understanding.  They all had their memories of the Silver Millennium and knew that Ami was engaged to Cairngorm back then before he turned to Queen Metallia's side after finding out that Ami had been having an affair with Rowen behind his back.  

Ami stepped forward to attack Cairngorm, but Lita stopped her.

"No," Lita said, "I want to take care of him."  Lita also remembered him, not only from the Silver Millennium, but from when Queen Metallia captured her; Cairngorm was the one who tortured her.  Ami stepped back, not understanding, but respecting Lita's wish to get rid of him herself.  But, Lita didn't plan to do it by herself.  Turning her head, she looked at Kento, who looked back with understanding.  It was as if their minds were one, thinking along the same brain waves.  They each knew what the other was planning.  

Lita closed her eyes and held her sword in one hand, two of her fingers on her other hand pressed up against the back of the blade, as she concentrated her power, forcing it into the blade once again.  Kento stood next to her, his naginata held horizontally in both of his hands, also pouring his power into his weapon.  "THUNDER ROCK STRIKE!" both of them yelled simultaneously.  

Kento's actions were the same as his own attack.  He twirled his weapon above his head before lowering it and pointing it towards Cairngorm, sending off his power.  Lita, on the other hand, simply held her arms out so that her elbow were locked, her hands not changing position, and her power was forced out of her sword and mixed with Kento's power, adding lightning to Kento's destructive power.  

Cairngorm could barely think as pain coursed through his body.  "Labradorite," he whispered, "I'm sorry."  Cairngorm then left the land of the living, dissolving with the force of Kento and Lita's attack.  The two of them suddenly felt the taxation of using so much power and immediately detransformed back into their clothes.  The other four who arrived did the same.  "Thanks for taking care of him," Ami said to Lita.

"No problem," Lita said in response.

"It's just that seeing him brought back a lot of what happened during the Silver Millennium and a lot of it is bad memories," Ami continued.

"Like I said before, no problem," Lita said.  Ami smiled and turned to walk away, noticing Kento and Lita's want to be alone as Kento came up behind Lita and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Come on, you guys," she said to the other three, "Let's go home."

"There really was no need for us, was there?" Sage asked as they walked.

"No, I guess not," Serena said.

"Well," Michelle speculated, "I guess all the warriors aren't needed all the time.  This time seemed to be one of them.  Cairngorm wasn't really powerful."

"No, he never was and he was always the most passive out of all the generals," Ami said.  

As the voices faded, Kento and Lita turned towards each other.   "Are you hurt too badly?" Kento asked.  Lita shrugged.

"I'll have a few bruises tomorrow, but nothing that won't go away in a couple of days.  How about you?" Lita asked.

"About the same," Kento said, "But, for a moment there, after Cairngorm hit us and we went flying, I thought I lost you and it scared me.  I didn't like that feeling."

"I felt the same.  It scared me because…"  Lita trailed off as she chose her next words carefully.  Then, she spoke.

"It scared me because I love you and I thought that I wouldn't get the chance to tell you that, Kento and that scared me more than anything."  Kento smiled.

"I was also scared that I wasn't going to be able to tell you that I love you."  Lita smiled at Kento.  "I mean," Kento continued, "It's not everyday that you meet the girl of you dreams and from our memories from the past, our relationship goes back much further.  It's not something to abandon."  

Kento thought about it and then laughed slightly.  "You know," he said, "For a while there, I didn't think you could possibly love me."  Lita almost squawked.

"What?" she said, "How could I not love you?  Your funny, good-looking, sensitive, nice, compassionate, caring, and, most of all, you make my life worthwhile.  I wake up in the morning knowing that you'll be there for me.  It's what keeps me going most days and sometimes, I love you so much that it's overwhelming."  Lita's voice was clogged up with tears of emotion as she tried to hold them back.  Kento smiled at her words.

"Ditto, for lack of a better word," he said, "I wake up every morning thinking about you and how much I love you.  I am so thankful and grateful that I have you in my life, Lita; you're what keeps me together.  Without you, my life would be meaningless."  Lita smiled broadly and kissed Kento.  He kissed her back with all the love he felt for her, finally happy that he was given the chance to tell her how he felt about her.  

Finally, they broke the kiss.  "Come on," Lita said, "Let's head home."  Kento nodded.

"Ok," he said, "Let's go."  Smiling at each other, the couple headed on home, their lives now complete.

***  
In the Negaverse, Labradorite, who had watched the whole scene where Cairngorm died, was huddled up on her bed, crying.  Why did he have to leave me?  He was the only person who truly understood me and loved me.  I'll get those miserable warriors for killing Cairngorm.  They'll wish they never even messed with Queen Metallia because the other generals' power is nothing compared to mine.  I'm the last one left.  It's up to me to kill them all, a task which I'll do with pleasure, Labradorite thought.  She smiled cruelly through her tears and worked on a revenge plan, one that would destroy the Universal Warriors.  

********

Hey Peoples!  Getting closer to the end!  Next chapter will be up . . . sometime this weekend, I think.  Review, Please!!!!!!!!!!! : )  Alright, I gotta go and study for finals now, eww. ~ Des


	15. One More Round in the Emotional Wringer

Warning:  This chapter deals with depression, rape, and suicide.  We are not upping the rating, but those under 13 should be advised that the content of this chapter is very dark and can be upsetting.  ~DestinyBabe

Part 14: One More Round in the Emotional Wringer

-April 22nd 2000-

"It's not fair I tell you!"  Mia only smiled in agreement at Mina's loud statement.

"I totally understand," Mia said; Mina just continued on her tirade.

"I mean, the others have boyfriends and they've known the guys just as long as I have!  What's the difference?  I don't get it!"

"I know," Mia said, "But my case is worse.  I've known Ryo for far longer than you've known Cye and I still haven't gotten anywhere with him.  In fact, at the rate you're going, you'll get together with Cye before I get together with Ryo."  Mina gave a loud sigh and sunk further into the large couch that sat in the middle of the family room on the third floor.

"I highly doubt it, Mia.  I mean, you'd think that if I loved someone enough that I'd be able to be with that person, but no!  Of course not!  I mean, is it too much to ask to want to be happy?"  Mia smiled gently at Mina.

"You really love Cye a lot, don't you?" Mia asked.  Mina nodded.

"Yeah, I do.  I love everything about him, even the stuff that he does that bothers me like constantly correcting my grammar, and whistling when he knows I can't stand people who whistle.  But I love him so much anyway.  I want to be near him all the time and when I'm not near him, I feel like my whole world is falling apart."  Mia laughed.

"It sounds like you're addicted to Cye, Mina."  Mina snorted.

"Yeah," Mina said, "He's like chocolate.  I just can never get enough of him."  At the end of Mina's sentence, the look on Mina's face turned into one of realization and shock.  "Chocolate…food…LITA!"  Mina rushed to her feet.  Mia's brow furrowed.

"Mina, what's wrong?"  As Mina struggled to get out of the little circle made by the couches, she explained to Mia her situation.  "Well, you see," Mina said, "It's my turn to go grocery shopping.  Lita needs food for dinner tonight and asked me this morning if I would go down to the store and get her supplies.  I agreed and said I would head out right away, but I got sidetracked and if I don't hurry, she'll have no food and she'll kill me!"  Mina finally maneuvered herself out of the circle of couches and started running down the stairs.  "Bye Mia!  It was nice talking to you!"

"You too, Mina!  Have fun!"  Mina threw a smile back at Mia before continuing on down the stairs, running at the speed of light, or so it seemed.  In fact, she was so preoccupied with running down the stairs that she didn't see the person who was coming up them until she was half way down the last flight of stairs.  Not even looking, she rammed right into the person, sending the two of them crashing down 20 or so steps, landing on the ground in a heap.  

Cye groaned as he felt his back hit the marble floor.  I'm going to have a couple of bruises.  Now, who did I run into? Cye thought as he felt the weight of someone on top of him, someone light.  Mina pushed herself off of Cye and looked down at him.  She gasped and said, "Cye!  Oh my god, I'm so sorry.  I wasn't looking where I was going and I didn't see you coming up the stairs.  Are you hurt?"  Cye smiled at Mina and pulled himself into a sitting position.

"I'm fine, Mina.  But, what's the rush?"  Mina sighed and stood up, extending her hand to Cye to help him off the ground; after all, he did hit the ground the hardest.

"Well, I totally forgot that I had to go grocery shopping for Lita so she can make dinner tonight and if I don't go now, I'll never get back in time for dinner and she'll slaughter me.  So, I have to go now."  Mina ran over to the hallway closet and grabbed her shoes from inside.  Slipping her shoes on, she was just about to rush out the door when she remembered that she didn't have her purse and therefore, no money.  "Oh god!  I don't have my purse and it has all my money in it!  I don't have time to find my purse; it'll take forever to find it and I don't have forever."  

Cye let out a deep sigh and pulled his wallet out of his pocket.  "Here, how about you borrow money from me and pay me back when you get home, all right?"  

Mina smiled and walked over to him, taking the money from his hand.  Standing on her toes, she gave him a kiss on the cheek in thanks, causing Cye to turn a light shade of pink.  "Thanks, you're a saint."  Mina rushed off towards the door when Cye called after her.  "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.

"Nah," Mina said, "I should be fine on my own.  I'll see you when I get back, ok?"  Cye nodded and smiled.

"Sure.  Bye Mina."

"See ya, Cye!"  With that, Mina was out the door, headed off to the grocery store.  Cye chuckled slightly.  God, I love that girl, he thought to himself as he started walking up the stairs, being extra careful this time around for people who might come flying down them and send him crashing, once again, to the bottom of the stairs.

***  
Mina's eyes roamed over the street she was walking on in nervousness.  Twilight was descending upon the city of Tokyo and Mina was out on a practically deserted street, the clicking of her heels on the ground one of the only sounds that accompanied her trek home.  Off in the distance, Mina could hear a dog barking faintly and she shivered involuntarily; there was something about that sound that just spooked her.  A light spring breeze fluttered past her and she hugged the grocery bag that she was carrying close to her chest, holding onto it as if for dear life.  

"I hope Lita appreciates this," Mina growled.  There was something amiss on the street and Mina didn't like it at all.  Her instincts were telling her to run, but Mina could see nothing that was out of the ordinary.  Maybe it's the fact that the street is, for the most part, abandoned, Mina thought.  As Mina walked, she could see things lurking in the shadows in every corner she found and she suddenly wanted to be at home right that instant.  But, she found no evidence that anything was actually there.  "Maybe my mind's just playing tricks on me," she whispered to herself.  After convincing her self that her imagination was running away with her, Mina's expression turned from scared to resolute as she continued walking.  It's just like I told Cye.  I'll be fine, Mina thought.  

No sooner did that thought pass through her mind did she feel a pair of rough hands grab her arms and manhandle her into a small alcove in between two of the buildings.  She dropped the grocery bag and the bag fell to the ground, its contents being spilled across the sidewalk.  Mina tried to scream, but a hand covered her mouth, preventing such action.  Even if she had been able to scream, the street was so deserted that no one would have heard her.  

When Mina's eyes were able to focus again, she found herself surrounded by 5 burly-looking men who were all looking at her like she was the main course at a banquet and they were starving diners.  She froze in fear as the ringleader laughed and traced a finger down her cheek.  "My, my, aren't you a pretty one?" he said, his voice rumbling deep in his throat, "Just what us fellas were looking for."  He gave her a lecherous grin and Mina wanted to die.  "You'll serve our purposes just fine.  Right guys?" he continued, addressing his gang of four men.  They all smiled and nodded, their eyes traveling up and down Mina's young body.  

Mina shivered as she felt their eyes on her body; she prayed for the moment to end.  "Guys," the leader said, "Hold her down so I can have the first go at her."  

"Sure thing," one of the lackeys said.

"Yeah, we'd be glad to.  Just as long as we get a turn too," another one said as two of them moved to hold her down while the other two watched.  The two that moved each grabbed one of Mina's hands and held them up against the wall behind her while they used their feet to pull her own feet apart, spreading her legs.  Tears started running down Mina's face as she struggled to get loose from their grip, but they were too much for her.  The leader moved his hands from her shoulders down to the front of her shirt, where grabbed the fabric in both hands and pulled roughly, tearing her blouse open and sending the buttons of her shirt flying every which way.  "Please, stop," Mina begged silently as the dark-haired man groped her breasts roughly.

"You like that, don't you, you little slut?" he said.  When Mina shook her head in response, he became enraged and slapped her hard, causing Mina's head to jerk violently.  Mina could feel the beginnings of a welt forming on her cheek.  After the leader had finished feeling her breasts roughly, his hands left her chest and moved down where he placed one hand on each thigh, slowly moving up to the apex of her thighs.  Mina began to struggle uncontrollably, trying to break herself free from the clutches of the men who were holding her in place.  The leader found that he could not get his hands up Mina's skirt, so he simply tore her skirt, creating a long slit on the right side.  Now given better access, his hands continued their journey.  

He had reached her panties and, after brushing up against the fabric lightly, was about reach inside with Mina screamed, throwing her whole body and soul in to the tortured-sounding scream, her Venus symbol surfacing on her forehead.  Her powers were reacting to the feelings Mina was experiencing and in a defensive move, the symbol on her forehead began to glow and created a huge orange beam of pure power, aimed at hurting the people who were harming Mina.  The 5 men all yelled out in pain as they tried to back away from Mina, the hot orange light burning them inside and out.  They collapsed to the ground as the beam faded, which left Mina still standing, her body being supported by the building's wall behind her.  

Mina saw this as her opportunity to flee the scene and with tears streaming down her face she did just that.  She held her shirt closed and ran with all her strength, determined to get home as soon as possible to the warm security of her room.  She carefully avoided any people she saw on the streets on the way home and she ignored their questioning glances; she didn't want their sympathy or their pity, she just wanted to go home.  

She ran for what seemed like forever until she reached Celia's house, where upon she opened the door quietly and slid in.  As she took off her shoes, her tears still falling down her face, she realized that she had no strength left in her.  She collapsed onto one of the benches in the foyer and drew her knees close to her body, burying her face in her hands and sobbing uncontrollably.  Mina only had one thought as her tears flowed from her eyes: Cye, I need you.  Please, help me. 

***  
At about the same time that Mina arrived at home, everyone else was gathered in the den on the first floor, waiting for something.  "You guys, I'm worried," Lita said, "Mina's been gone for way too long.  I mean she left…when?"

"At around 2:00 this afternoon," Cye said, his face full with worry.

"And it's now 6:30," Lita continued, "She's never gone this long.  What if something happened to her, you guys?"  No one responded as they all pondered what could have happened to Mina, Cye especially.  His imagination was running away with him as he thought about all the terrible things that could have happened to her.  What if she's in trouble or hurt or…dead?  How will I live without her with me? Cye thought sadly.  He was trying to stay on the positive side of things, but the more time that passed without word from Mina, the more worried he got and the harder it was to stay optimistic.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," Celia said sagely.

"Yeah," Margot agreed, "Mina will be fine.  She probably got sidetracked and is at the arcade right now.  Nothing to worry about."

"I agree with Margot," Julie said right before her stomach rumbled.  Everyone gave her an odd look.

"He, he," Julie laughed sheepishly, "Guess I'm a little hungry.  Hey Margot, wanna come get something to eat with me?"

"Yeah, sure Julie," Margot said and the two girls started leaving the room.

"Hey!" Kento called out, "Bring me back some too!"  Julie threw Kento a look over her shoulder.

"No problem Kento," she said before she and Margot exited the room, closing the door behind them.  They made their way through the large ballroom and were just about to turn to go into the kitchen through the dining room when they heard a faint sobbing coming from the foyer.  

The two sisters gave each other confused and worried glances.  If everyone was in the den, then the only person who could be in the front hall was…  "Mina," the two whispered at the same time before rushing out into the front hall, both of their gazes immediately locking onto Mina.  They moved over to her quickly.  Julie kneeled in front of her on the floor and Margot sat next to her on the bench.  Margot put an arm around Mina as a sign of comfort, but Mina quickly shrugged off the arm, like she didn't want to be touched.  

"Mina, what's wrong?  What happened?" Margot asked the sobbing girl.  Mina lifted her head out of her hands and looked at Margot, then at Julie.  Both of them got a good look on the welt on her right cheek in immediately gasped.    
  


"Oh my god, Mina, who did this to you?" Julie asked.  Mina didn't answer them.  She only lowered her knees, showing Margot and Julie her torn clothes.  The twins knew immediately what had happened.  Margot gasped and said, "Mina, are you ok?  Were you…I mean, did somebody try to rape you?"

"Yeah," Mina said softly, "They tried, but they didn't succeed.  I used my power against them and ran away.  I…"

"Shh," Julie said, "Don't try to explain; you don't have to.  Mina, is there anything that we can do for you?"  Mina nodded.

"Yeah, could you find Cye for me?  I really need him right now."  Julie nodded and straightened.

"Sure," she said, "I'll go get him.  Margot, you stay here with Mina."  Margot gave Julie a look of acknowledgement and Julie ran back to the den, opening the door, and entering.  The rest of the group turned to see Julie enter the room.

"Hey, where's the food?" Kento asked, his finger currently playing with a strand of Lita's hair.  Julie shot him a look that told him to forget about the food; there were more important things at that moment.  

Redirecting her gaze at Cye, Julie said, "Hey Cye, can I talk to you for a moment?  There's something I need to tell you."  Cye's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Sure, I guess so," he said, rising to his feet from the couch he was sitting on.  Cye followed Julie out of the den and when the door was shut, he said, "Ok, what's going on?  Is everything all right?"  Julie gave him a saddened look and shook her head.

"Come with me," she said to Cye before grabbing his hand and leading him out into the foyer.  Cye was confused until he saw Mina sitting on one of the benches with Margot.  Cye and Julie stood at a distance as Cye look at Mina, his eyes taking in what had happened; he, too, figured it out.

"Who did this?" he said in a fierce whisper, his hand forming into a tight fist.  

Julie looked at Cye with fear; he looked ready to kill.  Julie gulped and said, "We don't know.  But, who ever did this paid the price; Mina used her power on them.  Don't worry, they didn't rape her, but they tried.  But, it doesn't matter.  It doesn't make it any less traumatic for her right now.  She needs you, Cye, more than she's ever needed you before."  Cye could feel tears filling his eyes and blurring his vision.  Who could do something like this? Cye wondered.  At that moment, Mina turned her head and spotted Cye.  With a loud sob, she went for him and ran into his arms.  

Cye, whose angry look quickly transformed into a worried one, gathered her into a tight hug, holding her close to him, reveling in the fact that she was safe and unharmed.  He tucked her head underneath his chin, dwelling briefly on the fact that she fit perfectly into his embrace, before concentrating wholeheartedly on Mina's sobs.  "Oh Cye," she said, her voice blurred by sobs and ragged breaths, "It was horrible.  I thought I was never going to get out of there alive."

"Shh," Cye said, "Don't worry.  You're safe now.  I'll never let anything happen to you ever again."  His kind words only made Mina cry even harder and she held onto him tighter.  He was her anchor, her savior, her prince and she knew he would never do anything to hurt her.

"Come on," Cye said, scooping her into his arms, sweeping her off her feet, and cradling her close to his chest, "Let's get you upstairs and into bed."  With that, Cye began moving upstairs.  Julie and Margot only watched.

"Well, what do we do now?" Julie asked Margot.  Margot turned to Julie

"Julie, why don't you go and tell the others about what happened.  I'm going to go and help Cye with Mina."  Julie huffed slightly as Margot ran to catch up with Cye.  

"Aww man," Julie said, "Why do I always get stuck with the hard jobs?"  She was really dreading having to go and tell the others about what happened, but she knew she had to.  Turning around with a sigh, Julie slowly made her way into the den.  She opened the door and walked into the room slowly and depressingly, catching everyone's attentions.

"Julie, what's wrong?" Ryo asked, "Is everything ok?"  Julie shook her head in a negative response.

"You guys, I have something to tell you.  Something happened to Mina…"

***  
-April 29th, 2000-

It had been a week.  One whole week.  And Mina's life was still in ruins and she was showing no signs of cheering up or even a slight improvement, even with Cye's help.  Cye had devoted his whole being to caring for Mina, more for her own safety than anything else, even though he was genuinely worried about her.  He wasn't concerned about other people hurting her, but about her hurting herself.  Cye knew of Mina's great lack of self-esteem and figured that she would be prone to suicide, especially in her seemingly unending depressed state.  He had taken to spending every moment, waking and sleeping, by Mina's side, just to make sure that she was ok and if she needed anything, he could be right there to help her.  He was the only one who Mina would let help her.  She didn't want anybody else to touch her and she shied away from anyone else who touched her but Cye so it was all up to Cye to help her if she needed anything, which mainly consisted of a shoulder to cry on.  

Because of Mina's depressed state and the fact that Cye was the only one who could take care of and help Mina, the two of them had been skipping out on school, having Celia call them in sick; Mina was in no condition to go to school.  At this particular moment, Cye was watching Mina as she slept.  She was taking her daily nap and Cye, for one, was glad.  While she slept, he could watch her and know that she couldn't hurt herself in her sleep.  

He smiled; her saddened look disappeared from her face while she slept, leaving only her peaceful beauty behind.  She looks so calm in her sleep, like what happened to her last Saturday never happened at all, Cye thought, his hand hovering gently over her cheek; he could feel the radiating warmth of her skin even though he wasn't touching her.  He knew he could touch her and she wouldn't be alarmed, but he didn't feel right about touching her in her sleep without her permission; he was too much the gentleman to do that.  He pulled him arm away and stretched, feeling the popping of the joints in his back, a very uncomfortable feeling.  

His eyes drifted towards the source of the problem: his makeshift bed on the floor.  He had declined Mina's offer to let him sleep on the bed because he didn't feel it was right, despite her point about how there was plenty of space on her bed for two people.  He didn't trust himself alone in a bed with her.  He settled himself back in a sitting position on her bed and was about to get comfortable again when the door burst open.  

"Cye!" Serena exclaimed as she burst into the room.  Cye immediately put a finger to his lips and shot Serena annoyed look.  She looked at Cye sheepishly and said quietly, "Cye, there's a battle and we could use as much help as possible.  Are you coming or not?"  Cye looked at Mina briefly and then looked back at Serena with a sympathetic look.

"Sorry, I would come, but someone has to watch over Mina.  There's no telling what she could do if she were left alone."  Serena nodded understandingly and backed out of the room slowly, closing the door behind her as quietly as possible.  Cye, assured that Serena was gone, turned back to Mina, who was now looking at him with a disappointed look on her face.

"So, I can't be trusted by myself, huh?"  Cye rushed to disagree.

"No, Mina, it's not that.  It's just…"  Mina shook her head.

"You don't need to explain it to me, Cye, I understood perfectly what you meant."  Mina pushed herself out of bed and stood solidly on the floor, her eyes, full of sadness, fixed on Cye's own sea blue eyes.  Their eyes locked for a moment and Mina was the one who broke the gaze, moving past Cye and towards the doorway.  

Mina put her hand to the doorknob and was in the process of turning it when she felt Cye's hand rest on hers, momentarily stopping Mina from opening the door.  She turned to look up at him and saw him looking down at her with a mix of anger and worry.  "Where do you think you're going?" he asked in a low voice.

"I'm going to help Serena with the battle.  I can at least do that."

"You are not going out to fight.  You still need to rest," Cye growled.  Mina glared at him.

"Cye, I was not physically broken.  I am not crippled.  I can still fight.  Now get out of my way."  With that, Mina gave Cye a firm shove, effectively pushing him out of the way so she could open the door and walk out.  He rushed to catch up to her and, but the time he did, she was already in her sub-armor, ready to fight.  She joined the group that was gathered at the bottom of the stairs, all of them now looking at Mina with surprise.

"Mina?  What are you doing?" Serena asked, more in shock than anger.

"I'm helping you fight.  Last time I checked, I was still part of this team and I can still fight.  From what I heard, you can use all the help you can get."  Serena looked at Cye, who was also now in his sub-armor, and he shrugged at her, indicating that he tried to reason with her, but reasoning was obviously out of the question.  Serena shrugged herself, giving up the fight before it even began.  She knew that once Mina had set her mind to something, diverting her from her path was almost impossible.  And she looked really determined.  "Well," Serena said, "Now that we're all here, let's go kick some monster butt!"  The group of 18 warriors moved out of the house at a neck-breaking speed, running as fast as they could towards the battle scene.  

Once they got there, they found themselves faced with an army of monsters and they were all suddenly very scared.  This wasn't like fighting an army of hybrids or Dynasty soldiers, but actual monsters.  Labradorite was getting more vicious and cruel as time went on and she sent more monsters at the Universal Warriors each time she attacked.  

Serena, the first to snap out of the awe, started the long chain of transformations.  "I call upon the armor of Moonlight.  Armor of the Moonlight, TO ARMS!"  The rest of the Universal Warriors followed suit, transforming into their mystical armor, all of them ready for battle.  

Cye took one last worried look at Mina before she plunged into battle.  I hope she comes out all right.  If not, the defeat will surely kill her, Cye thought.  Little did he know how true his thoughts would be in real life.  His eyes leaving Mina's armored form, he too lunged into the battle, fighting with all of his might against the group of five monsters that were attacking him.  

In the space of 10 minutes, Cye had managed to kill off five of the monsters using only his Yari.  The other two sensed defeat, but before they could even move to get away, Cye used his attack on them.  "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"  The two monsters were obliterated immediately and Cye emerged victorious.  Free from the pressure of fighting the enemy, Cye was able to do a mental check of what was happening at that moment.  

Raye was holding her own against one of the monsters, a big, gnarly looking thing with mottled green skin and a huge set of jaws.  Ami and Lita had paired up while Rowen and Kento stood by for support.  Sage and Ryo were working together to destroy three of the violent offenders.  Serena, Darien, and Mia combined their individual attacks to kill quite a number of them.  Celia, Heather, Alex, and Michelle were all watching each other's backs while facing off against a team of 7 foes.  

Cye chuckled a little at Margot and Julie.  Leave it to them to bring a little humor to the battlefield, Cye thought.  Margot was holding down one of the monsters while shouting at Julie, "Hit him on the head, hit him on the head!"

"I'm trying," Julie shouted, "But he keeps moving around!"

"I don't care if he's moving, just hit him!"  So, Julie did.  And she missed, hitting Margot on the arm instead. 

"OW!" Margot screamed, "Hit him, not me, you dummy!"  Julie glared, whether it was at Margot or the monster, Cye didn't know.  "That's it, I've had enough!" Julie yelled, giving out a frustrated scream before hitting the monster square on the head.  Once he was down, Margot let go of him and used her attack on him.  "FIRES OF DESTINY!"  With that, the monster was incinerated, completely gone from the temporal world.  Margot turned to Julie, who was looking back with an apologetic look on her face.

"Thanks a lot," Margot said sourly.

"I'm sorry.  But he moved," Julie said in a slight, little kid whine.  Cye's gaze abandoned them, looking for one last member of the group, but not finding her.  

Cye's eyes searched for Mina, but he couldn't see her.  Then he spotted her.  And his blood started to boil.  At the edge of the battle scene was Mina and one single monster, possibly the most vicious out of all of them.  It currently had Mina in its clutches and was proceeding to attack her continuously, leaving Mina no chance to fight back.  If Cye didn't step in, she wasn't going to live through the battle.  Cye rushed towards Mina, his weapon poised to attack.  "HEY!  Let her go!"  The monster immediately stopped attacking Mina and turned to look at Cye, who was ready to attack at any moment.  The monster looked back down at Mina, who was almost unconscious, and the back at Cye.  Mina was quickly discarded, thrown to the side, as the monster found a more worthy opponent to battle.  

Cye and the monster faced each other, each one daring the other to attack first.  Wordlessly, they both attacked at the same time.  The monster didn't stand a chance.  Before it knew what was happening, it had the spokes of Cye's Yari buried in its torso.  Cye yanked his weapon out and with a bloody gurgle the monster fell to the ground.  

All thoughts of the now destroyed monster out of his head, Cye knelt by Mina and lifted her up into his arms, pulling her into a sitting position.  "Mina…Mina," he called out softly, "Come on, Mina, wake up."  With a pain-filled moan, Mina opened her eyes and Cye let go of the breath he didn't know he had been holding.  "Mina, are you ok?" he asked gently.  Mina shook her head.

"No," she forced out, "I hurt…everywhere."

"Can you walk?" Cye asked.

"I don't think I could even if I tried right now, Cye," Mina said dejectedly.  Cye nodded and lifted her off of the ground, cradling her in his arms.  "Come on, we better get you home."  They joined the others, who had finished battling as well, and Cye began walking back with them.  

All of them looked at Mina, but said nothing out of sensitivity.  Mina had been through a lot and her personal defeat probably only made things worse.  As they walked, Mina's failure only built upon itself inside of Mina's mind, seeming to be worse at every second.  Nobody noticed the lone tear that slid down her cheek in defeat and helplessness.

***  
Much later that night, Mina was lying wide-eyed in her bed, staring at her clock; it was exactly 1:06 in the morning.  She couldn't sleep, despite the fact that she was physically and mentally exhausted.  She couldn't get her thoughts to quiet down and let her have the much-needed rest that she longed for.  

Mina's thoughts kept circling around the events of the past week, from her attempted rape to her humiliating defeat earlier that day.  She was feeling useless and hopeless, like she had no real purpose in the world.  At the thought, a tear escaped her eye and slid down to the pillow below.  

What's the point?  I can't do anything right.  I'm a warrior and I can't even protect myself against 5 mortal men.  What use do I have in this world?  I'm no warrior; I don't help the team out at all.  I'm just a liability.  I only get hurt and I can't defend myself against the enemy.  I'm a burden to the Universal Warriors.  I shouldn't even be here anymore; my life has no purpose anymore, Mina thought as she pulled herself into the fetal position.  

Behind her, she could hear sounds of Cye's breathing.  She sat up in bed and turned around to look at Cye.  He was sleeping so calmly on the other side of her bed.  She had offered earlier that night to let him sleep in the bed and he was too tired to protest so he climbed into bed and fell right asleep.  

She got out of bed and walked over to the other side.  She smiled as she looked down at him tenderly.  She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss.  "Goodbye, Cye," she whispered softly.  Pulling away from him, she walked into the bathroom and turned on the light, closing the door behind her so as not to wake up Cye.  She walked over to the large counter and scanned the surface with a focused and determined, yet saddened look on her face.  

Finally finding what she was looking for, Mina picked up the bottle and looked at it with almost wonderment and contemplation.  Was she ready to do it?  Could she go through with it?  She opened the bottle and looked into it, judging its contents.  Good, there's still half of it left.  That should be enough, Mina thought.  She tilted back her head and poured the contents of the bottle into her mouth, swallowing frequently.  

Once the bottle was empty, she felt a lightness in her heart, a burden lifted off her shoulders.  Shaking with relief, she walked across the bathroom and sat down on the floor, leaning against the bathtub.  The cool porcelain felt nice on her back and Mina smiled peacefully.  I wish I could say goodbye to everybody, Mina thought, but didn't dwell on it.  As she closed her eyes and let her head fall back in a relaxed position, she allowed her hands to rest on the ground by her sides, one hand still clutching the now empty aspirin bottle.

***

Cye awoke suddenly out of a deep sleep and shot up into a sitting position.  The moment he did, he could feel all of the soreness that he received during the fight earlier.  Cye groaned as he stretched out the muscles in his back and cracked his neck.  He glanced over at the clock and found out that it was about 1:30 in the morning.  He looked over to the other side, expecting to see Mina, and was confused when he found that she wasn't there.  

Fearing the worst, he got out of bed, looking for Mina.  "Mina?" he called out into the darkness, "Mina, where are you?  Are you all right?"  Getting no answer, he continued to search for a few moments until his eyes spotted light peeking out of underneath the crack of the bathroom door.  

His brow furrowing in confusion, Cye moved towards the bathroom slowly.  His instinct was telling him that something wasn't quite right and it worried Cye immensely.  "Mina?" he called out tentatively as he pushed open the door.  He looked into the bathroom and almost started to cry.

"Oh no," he whispered, his throat constricting with tears.  The sight that he was shown was of Mina, leaning against the bathtub, her head lolled over to one side and her eyes closed.  Held loosely in one hand was an empty bottle.  He rushed over to her and picked up the bottle.  "Aspirin," he said softly as he read the label.  "But, why?" he asked to himself, putting all of his questions into one simple word.  

He checked over Mina and noticed that she was barely breathing.  She must have swallowed the whole bottle.  Why would she do this?   Doesn't she know what she's leaving behind? Cye thought as he gathered Mina into his arms and shook her in an attempt to wake her up.  "Come on, Mina, open your eyes.  Wake up!" he commanded.  Slowly, Mina's eyes opened and she turned her head to look up at Cye.

"I see you found me, Cye," she whispered, "I guess I can say goodbye to you in person now."

"Mina, why?  Why did you do this?  Did you feel that your life was this bad that you had to end it?"  Mina nodded.

"I'm useless, Cye, I'm a weak team member.  You'll all be better off without me around."  Mina closed her eyes and Cye felt her slipping away this time, possibly forever.

"Oh, no you don't.  You're not leaving me Mina.  I won't let you die."  

Closing his eyes, he reached into his deep power source, allowing the cool blue well to wash over him and calm him down.  The whole world disappeared around him, leaving him being engulfed by the blue strands.  He wanted to stay there forever and was very tempted do to so, but he soon remembered why he delved into his power source in the first place.  

His mind focused on Mina, he pushed his power into Mina's body, using his power source, water, to purify her blood and get rid of all the poison that was floating around in her body.  It was a technique that Cye never knew existed and was something that he felt he couldn't have done without the desperation of the situation.  He was beginning to tire, but he couldn't stop yet; there was still some of the poison left in Mina's body.  With an exhausting effort, he finally rid Mina's body of the drug and he pulled what remained of his power back into his body; he knew he wasn't going to be fighting for the next couple of days until his reserves were restored.  

Opening his eyes, he took in a deep breath and let it go in relief at the sight of Mina's steady and normal breathing.  He looked at her face and saw that her eyes were still closed.  Her body's probably exhausted from trying to battle the aspirin, Cye thought.  Gently, he shook her until she woke up.  

Mina opened her eyes and Cye set her down, standing up to help her onto her feet.  She looked down at herself in awe and shock for a few moments before accepting Cye's helping hand.  With the help of Cye's strength, she got to her feet.  "I'm alive," she said, still in awe over the fact that she was breathing and standing, that she wasn't dead.

"Yes, you're alive," Cye said with a smile on his face, thinking that Mina was happy as well.  He moved in to give Mina a hug, but immediately halted when Mina slapped him violently.  He looked at Mina's face and found that she was crying.

"Why?" she asked, "Why did you have to bring me back?  Why couldn't you just let me die?  I don't deserve to be here anymore, Cye."

"That's not true, Mina," Cye said, "You deserve everything you want and more.  Besides, I couldn't just let you die.  You're an integral part of the team."

"No, I'm not.  All I do is cause trouble and I make battles worse.  I can't fend for myself or even protect myself.  I'm useless, Cye."  Cye walked up to her and grabbed Mina by the arms, looking down into her eyes.

"Don't you ever say that," Cye growled, "You are not useless."  Mina wasn't shaken by Cye's rough tone of voice.

"No, Cye, I am useless.  All I do is stay around and let you guys take care of me and pity me.  Well, I don't want to burden your lives and I don't want your pity.  You guys don't need me; you'd be better off without me."

"That's not true," Cye said, "We all need you."  Cye's shoulders slumped in defeat.  "I need you," he continued.

"You…what?" Mina asked, not believing Cye's words.

"I need you so much, Mina.  Without you, I don't know where I'd be.  You give my life purpose, meaning.  I can't live without you in my life.  Ever since I met you, I've wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you."  He paused for a brief moment and then continued, his voice full of emotion.  "Mina, I love you."  

"You…love me?" Mina asked incredulously.

"Yes, I love you.  I've loved you since the first moment I saw you.  I mean, what's not to love?  You're beautiful, clever, witty, funny, sweet.  You're the person who brings love and cheer into everyone's life, Mina.  Without you, the house would be a lot darker.  And this last week, we haven't been pitying you, we've been worrying about you.  You mean so much to all of us and we were all worried when we found out what happened to you.  Especially me," Cye finished, his voice no higher than a whisper.  

Mina smiled a tear-filled smile, her first smile in days, and said, "I love you, too, Cye.  Ever since I saw you, I knew I'd love you forever."  Mina moved closer Cye and pulled him down for a kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on her toes so she could kiss him better.  Cye was shocked for a few moments before he inwardly smiled and began kissing her back, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him.  

Slowly, the kiss ended, leaving the two of them struggling for air.  "Wow," Cye whispered.

"Ditto," Mina said as she looked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness.  He smiled down at her and gave her another kiss, this one passionate and quick, before pulling her into a hug, reveling on how perfectly she fit into his arms.  

"I was afraid I had lost you," he said, resting his chin on the top of her head.  Mina smiled a melancholy smile as she snuggled up against Cye's chest. 

"Well, you almost did," Mina said quietly, "I can't believe I did that.  I mean, at the time, it seemed like a good idea, but now all I can think is how stupid it was."  

"Well, how do you feel?" Cye asked.

"Better," Mina said.

"I mean about the whole situation with what happened last Saturday and with the battle earlier."  Cye sensed more than saw Mina's face fall.

"I'm still feeling really down about the whole thing, but I do feel a little better."  Cye smiled.

"Well, do you want to talk about it now that you're feeling a little better?  You didn't want to talk before."  Mina giggled.

"Yeah, I all I wanted to do was cry about it.  But, I think I'm ready to talk about it and what happened.  It might help me if I do.  That is, if you promise to try and not freak out about the details."

"I can't promise you that, but I'll try."

"That's all I'm asking you to do."  Cye nodded and pulled away from Mina. 

"Well, lets go talk somewhere that's a little more comfortable than the bathroom, shall we?"

"Sure," Mina said as they walked out of the bathroom.  

Mina turned off the light and worked her way over to the bed.  Climbing in, she said, "Cye?  Where are you?"

"Right next to you."  Mina jumped and felt his hand rest on her shoulder.

"Don't disappear on me in the dark like that.  You scared me," she said.

"Sorry," Cye apologized, "I didn't mean to scare you."  Smiling, he scooted over to the middle of the bed, pulling Mina along with him.  He lay down on the bed and pulled her into his arms, her back pressed up against his chest.  "Do you want to talk now?" he whispered.  Mina nodded.

"Yeah, I do," she said, feeling better than she had in days.  

With a deep breath, Mina began to describe what had happened to her and Cye was happy that the hardest part was over and that she was finally beginning to open up.  I don't know who to say this to, but, whoever up there loves me, thanks, Cye thought as Mina spoke to him.  He let out a soft sigh and held Mina closer to him, letting her story fill his ears, relieved that she was going to be ok after all.  

*********

Hi all.  So, yeah, kind of a depressing chapter in a way, but it will all end happily.  I'm going to try to update again this weekend (probably Sunday) so you aren't left with such a sad chapter right before Christmas. If you guys are really nice (and that means bucco reviews, peoples!), I might be convinced to give you a little Christmas treat – the last two chapters and the epilogue before Christmas.  I don't mean to be all icky and everything and there's nothing I dislike more than people who demand reviews before they update.  I just want to warn you – I'm going on vacation for a week after Christmas to a land with one pay telephone and no internet (and no, I'm not leaving the country!).  So, if you all want this book finished before the end of the year, you should help motivate me! : )  Then we can skip on to book 4, which I know some of you have never read before (some people read the first three books on FateChica's website).  Alright, must go, as I have my last exam at 8 am tomorrow and a 12 hour drive home to look forward to!  Yippy Skippy!  - note the sarcasm dripping on the floor. Happy Holidays all!  ~Des


	16. The Circle is Complete

Part 15: The Circle is Complete

-May 13th 2000-

The comfy couch in the second-floor family room groaned from overuse as the two girls plopped down unceremoniously, one of them holding a bag of chips in one hand and a drink in the other.  The other girl held a drink as well, but instead of a bag of chips in the other hand, she held a bowl of guacamole.  The two set their treasure down on the coffee table in front of them and began to eat.  

Margot sighed in pleasure as she tasted the guacamole.  "Perfect," Margot said, "Just the way I like it."

"I take it the guacamole is good," Julie said with a smirk.

"You could say that, but it would be a great understatement," Margot said in response.  

"I guess I'll just have to try it then," Julie said, taking a tortilla chip out of the bag and dipping it in the guacamole.  Stuffing it in her mouth, Julie nodded in satisfaction as she crunched on the chip.    
"You're right.  It is really good," Julie said.  Margot harrumphed

"See, I told you so," Margot said superiorly.  Julie was about to respond with a smartass response, but stopped herself as she spotted Kento coming up the stairs with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey Kento," Margot said, spotting him as well, "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine.  What are you two girls up to?  Nothing evil I hope."

"No, we've decided to stay out of trouble today.  We're just sitting here, eating chips and guacamole," Julie said, "Do you wanna join us?  There're plenty of chips to go around."  Julie was obviously trying to lure Kento into staying with them.  It didn't work.

"Nah," Kento said, shaking his head, "I've got to go and wake up Lita.  She's taking a nap and made me promise to wake her up at 5:00 and it's now 5:00.  So, you two have fun, but I have to get going now.  See ya two later!"  With that, Kento turned and continued walking up the steps to the third floor.  

The two girls stared, flabbergasted, at the spot where Kento had just been standing.

"Kento?  Turning down food?" Margot said in surprise.

"He must really be in love if he's turning down food," Julie said.  Margot turned to look at Julie, her long auburn-red hair being thrown over one shoulder.

"You know," Margot said, "We've been seeing a lot of that thing called 'love' around here lately, haven't we?"  
"Yeah," Julie replied, "With all of the couples getting together, there's been a lot of love floating around."

"But there're two people who're still not happy like the rest," Margot said.  Margot and Julie locked gazes.

"Mia and Ryo," they both said in unison.

"Ooh," Margot said, frustration seeping into her voice, "If only they would get over their little problems of the past and just admit to each other that they love each other!  The house would be a much happier place."

"But they're too stubborn to do it," Julie said.

"Well then we'll just have to give them a little push," Margot said with a sly grin on her face.  Julie sighed as if in resignation, although she was smiling. 

"So much for staying out of trouble today," Julie said; Margot rolled her eyes and heaved a great sigh of annoyance.

"Come on Julie; it's not like we're setting up a practical joke…"

"'Cause God knows we'd never do that," Julie interrupted.  Margot glared at Julie for interrupting her, but said nothing about it.  Instead, she continued.

"We're just giving two people who are obviously in love with each other a little push in the right direction.  It's for their own good.  Do you agree or not?"  Julie nodded determinedly.

"I agree," Julie said.

"Good.  Now let's go find one of them and put the pressure on," Margot said.  The two Oracle Warriors stood up and went on a search for either Ryo or Mia, leaving their chips and guacamole behind in the dust.

***  
Mia sighed in boredom as her eyes glazed over the words of the book for her political science class.  "Just where do I have to read up to again?" she whispered to herself.  She quickly thumbed through the book and found the spot where she had to read up to.  "A hundred pages?" Mia scoffed, "I don't think so!"  With that, she snapped the paperback book shut and tossed it to the side.  It landed on the black leather couch with a soft thump.  Mia leaned back, with a smile on her face, taking a 5-minute break.  

She sighed in happiness and had just started relaxing when two voices called out her name.  "Oh Mia!" the voices sang out.  Oh great, my two favorite people, Mia thought sarcastically, not really wanting to deal with them at the moment, but really having no choice.  She turned around to face the stairs and Julie and Margot walked up to the third floor. 

"Hi Mia!" Margot exclaimed as she and Julie finally made it to the top of the stairs, each of them barely winded.  

"Hey you two, what do you want?" Mia asked jovially.  With that invite, the two girls plopped down on the couch on either side of Mia.  Mia felt like she was being cornered.

"We only want you to answer one question and then we'll let you get back to whatever you were doing before we interrupted you," Julie said.

"Why do I have the feeling that although I'm not going to like the question, I'm going to have to answer it anyway?" Mia asked, casting her eyes heavenward.

"Because," Margot said cheerfully, "You love us!"  Mia eyed the two of them before caving in.

"Alright," she said, "What's your question?"

"Well, it's a simple question Mia.  All you have to do is say yes or no," Margot pointed out.

"Well, what's the question?  I can't answer it if you guys don't ask it."  Julie and Margot looked at each other before Julie asked the question.

"Mia, are you in love with Ryo?"  Mia froze; how in the world was she supposed to answer that question?  She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her and she was completely speechless and taken aback by the question.  

Julie and Margot threw each other another look and looked back at Mia with cautious and hopeful looks on their faces.

"See," Margot said, "It's a very easy question to answer.  Is it yes or no?"  Mia looked at the two of them.

"I thought you two knew everything.  So why are you asking me this?"  The twins were equally as taken aback by Mia's question.  How did they answer?  After conferring briefly telepathically, they did the only thing they could do to get the answer out of Mia: they lied.

"Well, we don't know everything," Margot said.

"But that's not the point," Julie continued, "Do you or not?"  Mia's face hardened with resolve.

"I'm not answering that."

"Please?" the two girls pleaded.

"No," she said simply.

"Ooh, why not?" Margot asked with a pout on her face.

"Because I don't feel like discussing my personal feelings with the two of you!" Mia barked out.  The twins were unaffected by Mia's harsh tone.

"Please!" Julie begged.

"No!  For the last time, no!"  

Ryo, at that same moment, happened to be walking down the hallway from Serena's room.  The two had been working on a project for history together up in Serena's room and Ryo was going to get something they needed.  He had happened upon the conversation and, although he knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, pressed himself up against the wall and settled into listen.

"Come on Mia, you know you wanna answer the question," Margot said, trying to coax the answer out.

"Do you or don't you?  When you give us our answer, we'll leave you alone," Julie said, also trying to convince Mia to answer.  Finally, Mia just snapped.

"Fine!  I'll answer your stupid question.  If only you'll leave me alone!"  Drawing in a deep breath to replenish the air she just wasted on yelling at the twins, Mia said loudly, "Yes, I do; I do love Ryo!  Now will you leave me alone?"  

Julie and Margot smiled; they got the honest truth out of Mia, even if it did take a little prodding.  Margot was about to say something on the subject of Mia telling Ryo that, but there was no need; Ryo had already heard it.  

Stepping out of the hallway and entering the room, Ryo said, "Mia?  You do?"  The three girls froze and Mia felt like she was going to die.  Her heart sunk to her toes and she was sure she was going to pass out.  Slowly, she stood up and turned around, facing Ryo, her face white as a sheet.  "Ryo," she whispered, "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," he said simply.  Mia choked back a sob and, with her face turning bright red, she fled the room, running down the stairs and away from the three who were in the family room.  

Margot stood staring at the spot where she last saw Mia while Julie walked over to Ryo and laid a consoling hand on his arm.  "Hey, Ryo, are you alright?" Julie said in response to his dazed look.  Margot, too, walked over and expressed her concern.

"Yeah Ryo," she said, "You look kinda pale.  Like you're going to pass out."  Ryo didn't say anything; he just pushed past the two and moved to the couch, where he not so gracefully plopped down.  Julie and Margot walked over Ryo and sat down on the couch that was opposite from him, waiting for him to respond in any way.  Finally, he spoke.

"What am I going to do?" he asked.

"Well, how do you feel?" Margot asked back.  Ryo paused as he thought about it for a moment.

"I feel happy yet troubled all at the same time."

"What do you mean?" Julie asked.

"Well," Ryo said, "I'm happy that I finally know that she loves me, but I feel troubled because I have a feeling that she's going to avoid me again like she did a couple of years ago when we first kissed."  Ryo just sighed and put his head in his hands.  

There was silence for a few moments until Julie spoke up.

"Do you love her?" Julie asked softly, her voice almost a whisper.  Ryo chuckled a little bit, a half smile forming on his face.

"Yeah, I love her.  I have ever since I first heard her voice, telling the other Ronin Warriors and myself that we had to work as a team in order to beat the dynasty soldier."

"Then tell her," Margot and Julie said simultaneously.

"But you might wanna wait until she's calmed down a little bit.  She was pretty shaken up from finding out that you heard her.  Hey, why were you standing there?  Were you eavesdropping?" Margot asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion at Ryo, who looked all for the world like an innocent little kid who had gotten his hand caught in the cookie jar.

"Well, I was, but not intentionally.  I was walking down the hallway from Serena's room when I happened to overhear the conversation.  I thought it was best if I not interrupt and yes, I do admit that I was very curious about what you guys were talking about.  I'm sorry that I listened in, but eavesdropping was just too inviting an offer to pass on."  Julie and Margot nodded in understanding at Ryo.

"It's ok, Ryo," Margot said. 

"We forgive you," Julie said, "Although it's really not us who you should be apologizing to."  Julie paused as she thought about what she had just said.  "Not that you have anything really to apologize for," she continued.  Margot, understanding what Julie was trying to say, stepped in to the conversation.

"I think what my dear sister is trying to say is that we're not the ones who you should be talking to about this.  Mia is," Margot said.

"But, I have to wait until she calms down a little bit, like you guys said, because otherwise she just might push me away again and there's nothing I would hate more than that," Ryo said, tears forming in his eyes at the thought of Mia ignoring him again; he didn't think he could handle it a second time.  

Margot and Julie stood up and walked over to Ryo.  Julie laid her hand on his shoulder.  

"Well, I'm sure that you'll know when it's time to talk to her and that you'll tell her that you love her," Julie said.

"You will tell her that you love her, won't you?" Margot asked, hoping the answer would be yes.  She wasn't disappointed.

"Yeah, I'm going to tell her.  I've waited long enough to tell her and she needs to know.  It's not really fair for her to know that I know that she loves me, yet she knows nothing of my feelings.  I can't imagine how that would feel, but I would hate to be in that position."  

Ryo stood up and quickly switched the subject.  "Well," he said, "I better go get my research supplies from my room.  That's why I was heading down this way in the first place.  I better hurry though; I've been gone long enough and Serena's going to start to worry."  Ryo paused and threw them a smile before continuing.  "So, I'll see you two girls later, alright?"  He didn't wait for their response before he started off down the stairs.  

Margot shook her head, as if Ryo were hopeless.  "There goes one lovesick boy," she said.

"Yeah," Julie said, fully agreeing.  Turing to her older twin, Julie said, "Hey, do you wanna get back to those chips?"  A small smile turned up the corners of Margot's mouth. 

"Yeah," Margot said, "I do."  Together, the two girls walked down the stairs and back to their chips and guacamole; it was as if the events from the last 20 minutes had never happened.

***  
The sound of her footsteps was the only noise that filled the vast hallway as she padded across the marble floor.  The noise echoed off the wall and reverberated softly in her ears as she made her way across the hallway.  She reached the end of the hallway and opened a door on the left side of the wall.  She slowly opened the door, careful not to make any noise for that would wake him up and she couldn't risk him waking up.  As she stepped into the room, she heard the soft, rumbling purr of the large white tiger that lay along side the bed. 

"Hi White Blaze," Mia whispered, a slight smile appearing on her face as she shut the door to Ryo's room as quietly as she could.   After closing the door, Mia made her way through the darkened room, the faint light of the half moon shining through the window, spilling over the floor and onto a small corner of Ryo's bed.  Using this light, Mia was able to navigate herself over to the large bed with no mishaps.  Carefully stepping over White Blaze, Mia gently climbed into the bed, trying not to shift the bed.  

Ryo, who was only half asleep, felt the bed dip under the pressure of another body.  Opening his eyes enough to see who it was, he was surprised to see Mia sitting on his bed, looking down at him.  He wanted to ask her what she was doing, but knew if he did, she would leave, so he pretended to be asleep and waited for Mia to do something.  

Several moments passed where nothing happened.  Unbeknownst to Ryo, Mia was just taking pleasure in looking at Ryo, admiring his face as he "slept".  Mia went on like that for several moments before, without the knowledge that Ryo was in fact awake, she began to speak.  "So, I guess you heard me say that I love you, huh?"  She laughed slightly, reflecting on what had happened.  "I never figured you would find out like that.  I always thought that I would tell you to your face with the hopes that you might return the sentiment.  Now, I don't know.  I'm worried that I might have scared you off.  2 years ago, when you kissed me, I wasn't ready.  Now, I'm ready, but I'm not so sure if you are."  

Mia sighed and there was a slight pause.  "Our relationship has been so rocky over the past couple of years, I sometimes don't know where I stand with you.  I wish I always knew; I value your opinion highly, higher than anybody else's.  What I mean to you and what you think of me matters so much in how I think of myself.  I know it's unhealthy to have that mentality, but, when you're in love, what're you going to do about it?  There's nothing I can do or could have done to stop myself from falling in love with you.  And trust me, it wasn't like I planned on falling in love or anything.  

"If somebody had told me that I was going to fall in love with somebody that was 4 years younger than I was, I would have laughed in their face, saying that I would never go for someone who was so much younger than I was.  But, with you, the age difference doesn't matter at all because you act so much older than you are.  

"I think that's one of the things I love most about you.  You look at the world through a much more mature and understanding viewpoint than normal guys your age.  But, that may come from having to save the world a couple of times before the age of 15.  However, you're maturity isn't the only thing I love about you.  I love everything about you and I wish I knew how you felt about me because this not knowing is tearing me apart."  Mia finished her monologue, a couple of tears running down her face, and Ryo couldn't keep quiet any longer.  He grabbed Mia's hand, almost laughing as she jumped in surprise, and sat up slowly, saying, "If you wanted to know how I felt about you, you could have just asked."  Mia looked at Ryo with wide eyes.

"You're awake?" she whispered before attempting to pull her hand away.  "I have to go," she muttered, but Ryo's grip on her hand tightened, keeping her in place.

"No," he said firmly, "You are not leaving this room until you've asked me how I feel about you."  Mia struggled to pull her hand away, but to no avail.  "Ryo, please, don't make me…"

"Mia," he said slowly, "Just ask me."  Mia totally missed the joy in Ryo's eyes as she gave in with a sigh.

"Fine," she said, defeated, her eyes down cast, "How do you feel about me?"  Ryo smiled; now was his chance to tell her how he felt.  He lifted his other hand and used it to tuck a loose strand of Mia's hair behind her ear before grabbing the hand he already held; he now held Mia's hand in his two larger ones.  

Mia's averted eyes lifted to look into Ryo's own and the moment she did, her heart soared in hopefulness; she saw the sparkle in his eyes, the smile on his face, and she prayed.

"Well, let's see," Ryo said, purposely avoiding answering the question, "I feel a lot about you.  Sometimes I feel anger.  Sometimes I feel annoyance.  I feel happiness."  Ryo emphasized the sentiment by lifting her hand so he could kiss one of her knuckles.  "I feel joy."  Another kiss.  "I feel laughter."  And yet another kiss.  He paused and gave her a devilish grin that made her heart skip a beat.  "Sometimes I feel lust."  Ryo's smile turning tender, he finished up with, "But most of the time I feel love."  At Mia's shocked look, he continued.

"Yes," Ryo said, "You heard me right.  I feel love for you.  Mia, I love you.  I've loved you for so long.  As I told Margot and Julie, I've loved you since the first moment I heard your voice calling out to the Ronin Warriors, telling us that we had to work as a team.  And then I laid my eyes on you and fell in love with you more.  I don't think I knew that I was in love with you then, but over time I realized it and hoped that you returned the same feeling.  Now I know that you do and my life couldn't be more perfect."  A couple of tears rolled down Mia's cheeks.

"And to think that we wasted so much time.  If only I hadn't run away after you kissed me the first time.  I'm so sorry I ran away from you Ryo."  Ryo smiled.

"It's alright; I understand.  You were scared and didn't know what to do.  And don't worry about the lost time.  We can always make it up."  He pulled her closer and fixed his devilish smile on her again.  "And we can start right now."  Mia smiled and let out a small giggle before Ryo's lips captured hers in a kiss.  She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and pulled herself closer to him, kissing him with more fervor.  Ryo happily returned the kiss with an equal amount of passion.  

Mia was the first one to pull away.  "I love you," she said softly.  Ryo smiled gently with the slightest hint of joking arrogance.

"I know," he said before pulling her in for another kiss.  And this time, Mia didn't run away.  

***

-May 14th, 2000-

Ryo awoke early the next morning to the sunlight streaming in through the French doors and onto his face.  He squeezed his eyelids together in an attempt to block out the sunlight and pulled the warm being in his arms closer to him.  He relaxed his eyelids and opened his eyes as he smiled, remembering the previous night.  He could feel Mia's warmth through her pajamas as he cradled her to his chest.  He propped himself up on one elbow so he could admire her in the early morning.  

Her long auburn hair fanned out on the pillow, catching the sunlight and reflecting it, creating something that resembled a halo that framed her head.  Mia's face was relaxed in sleep, her eyelashes barely brushing up against her skin and her lips slightly parted, allowing air to move in and out of them.  He smiled at her angelic appearance as he leaned over to tenderly kiss her temple.  

A feeling of déjà vu hit him and remembered the memories he gained back just hours before.  He remembered everything about his life during the Silver Millennium, especially the part about his engagement to Mia.  His smiled widened as he remembered that aspect of his past life.  Maybe we really were meant for each other then, Ryo thought happily.  

His gaze shifting towards the window, he saw that the position of the sun was moving, the light of the sun getting closer and closer to shining into Mia's eyes.  Not wanting her to be awakened harshly the sunlight, Ryo carefully crept out of be and walked over to the French doors, closing the sheer blue curtains, softening the room by casting it a pale blue light.  Satisfied that Mia's sleep would remain uninterrupted, Ryo got back into bed and pulled Mia gently into his arms, so as not to wake her, and was content to just watching her sleep.

***

Mina slipped her hand into Cye's and squeezed it as they walked together in silence.  The young couple turned their heads to look at each other and they both smiled at the same time, catching the other's eye.  Cye forced Mina to release his hand so he could put his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to him.  Mina giggled contently as she slipped one arm around Cye's waist, huddling up against him as they through the park underneath the early morning sun.  

There were still hints of spring dew on the leaves and the park was sparsely populated that morning, so Mina and Cye practically had the whole park to themselves.  They walked over to the shores of the lake and settled down in the soft grass underneath a tree.  Mina sat in between Cye's legs and leaned up against him as he leaned up against a tree, his arms wrapped around her, holding her close to him.  

They were both silent as they marveled over the beauty of the park.  "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Cye said as his eyes danced over the lake, taking in all the beauty of the water as it sparkled from the light of the sun.

"Yeah, it is," Mina said with a content smile on her face, "I'm happy we decided to take this walk."  Cye leaned over and gave Mina a soft kiss on the shoulder.

"I am too," he whispered in her ear.  She laughed as his breath tickled her ear and settled further into his arms.  They sat like that, in perfect silence, for what seemed like forever until a sudden explosion occurred and disturbed their peace.  The couple stood up and, looking at each other with confused faces, rushed off towards the source of the explosion.  

They ran until they hit a set of bushes.  "I think whatever it is that caused the explosion is over on the other side of these bushes," Mina whispered.  Cye nodded in agreement and, as quietly as they could, the couple peered over the edges of the bushes, trying to find the cause of the explosion.  Mina's eyes widened in recognition and fear as her sights fell on the figure on the other side of the bushes.  

"Oh god," Mina whispered meekly before moving away from the bushes.  Cye looked at Mina confusedly and, taking one last look over the bushes, turned to follow Mina.  "Mina, what is it?" he asked when they were out of hearing distance of the figure, "Do you recognize that person?"  Mina faced Cye and looked up into his eyes.

"Yeah," she said, "I do.  It's one of Metallia's generals.  She's the one who tortured me when I was captured last year.  Remember that?" Mina said.

"Yeah," Cye said, his voice gruff, "I remember.  But, we have to do something about it.  We have to face her."  Seeing the scared look on Mina's face, Cye rushed to reassure her.

"Don't worry," he said softly, "You're a lot stronger than you were then.  You can stand up to her this time."

"Do you think so?" Mina asked hopefully.  Cye smiled tenderly.

"I know so," he confirmed.  Mina nodded determinedly.

"Alright," she said, "Let's go kick that general's butt!"  Together, the two of them transformed into their sub-armors and rushed back to where they saw the figure.  Bursting through the bushes, they looked at the general straight in the eyes.  "Stop whatever you're doing!" Mina said.

"Whatever you're trying to do, you won't get away with it," Cye yelled.  

Labradorite was standing in the middle of what looked like a war zone.  Trees and bushes were mangled and the ground beneath her was parched and burnt.  There were tears streaming down her face, tears of disappointment and loss: disappointment over her failed attempts to get the Universal Warriors and loss over her true love, Cairngorm.  She missed him more than words could say and would do anything in her power to destroy the people who destroyed him.  

Slowly turning her head to see who had spotted her, Labradorite's eyes narrowed in anger and rage at who she saw.  "YOU!" she screamed, recognizing the two warriors as part of the team she was trying to get rid of.  Without a warning and a pain filled scream, Labradorite sent a powerful blast of energy at the two warriors, causing them to dodge and jump away from the enraged general.  "I say we transform," Cye said.

"I couldn't agree more," Mina said in response before concentrating her power for transforming.  "I call upon the armor of the Heavens.  Armor of the Heavens, TO ARMS!"

"Armor of Torrent, DAO SHI!"  

Within seconds, the two warriors were fully armed and ready to fight Labradorite.  Labradorite, seeing that the two had transformed, became even more enraged, knowing that they now had a better chance of destroying her.  With that thought in mind, she sent another blast out at the Mina and Cye, forcing them, once again, to dodge it.  With that, the battle began.

***  
Serena shot straight up in bed as she felt the energy radiating off of whatever enemy was attacking this time. Actually, Serena wasn't in her own bed; she was in Darien's bed, with the owner still fast asleep.  

"Darien, wake up," she said tugging on the sleeve of his T-shirt, "There's an enemy attack and we have to go."  Darien grumbled as he was brought out of his slumber.

"Now?" he asked, "At this hour?"

"Yes," Serena hissed, throwing the covers off, "Now get out of bed and let's go.  We don't have much time; this one is strong."  She left Darien to get out of bed as she rushed over to the bathroom, transforming into her sub-armor along the way, and burst into Ryo's bedroom.  

"Hey, Ryo," she shouted, "Get up!  There's an enemy attack!"  She was going to say more, but the words died in her throat as she saw that Ryo was not alone in bed.  Snuggled up against him was Mia, who was woken up by Serena's yelling.

"What was that?" Mia said groggily.  Serena smiled inwardly, happy that Ryo and Mia had finally gotten together.  But, she ignored it for the moment as to not make either of them embarrassed.

"God," she said, "Is it a brother and sister thing, Mia?  You and Darien are both not lucid when you first wake up in the morning."

"Serena," Ryo said, "Did you say that there was an enemy attack?"

"Yeah," Serena said, "Why would I be wearing my sub-armor if there weren't?"  Ryo thought about this for a moment as Serena exited his room and entered the hallway.

"Good point," he said, getting out of bed and transforming into his sub-armor as well.  Mia followed suit and joined the cousins in the hallway, where Darien was also waiting, wearing his black sub-armor.

"Come on," Serena said with a urgent tone in her voice, "We have to go."  Serena started rushing down the hallway.

"Aren't we going to get the others?" Mia asked, running beside Serena.  Serena shook her head.

"There's no time!" she exclaimed, "We have to take care of this enemy and fast.  We're just going to have to take care of this ourselves, I'm afraid."  

The group of four rushed out of the house and, with Serena leading the group, headed towards the source of the evil energy.  Serena followed the energy residue and was not surprised to find herself at the park.  Why do they always attack the park, I wonder? Serena asked herself as she ran through the park.  As they neared the location of the enemy, they heard a loud voice cry out, "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" followed by "BEAUTY SHOCKWAVE!"

"So," Ryo said, "I guess Mina and Cye were here when whatever it was attacked.  Otherwise, why would they be here and how would they know about it?"  Serena shrugged and called out the cry that would invoke her armor.  Her armor incased her body as she ran and she saw the others do the same out of the corner of her eye.  They burst into the battle scene, shocking Mina, Cye, and Labradorite.

"Oh great," Labradorite said loud enough for everyone to hear, "More of you.  Just what I needed."  Labradorite shrugged and said, "Oh well, that just means that I can get rid of more of you at once."  This arrogant response angered the 6 warriors more than words could describe.  They couldn't believe her arrogance when she was greatly outnumbered.  But, when Labradorite fired another powerful blast, even more powerful than the ones before it, the 6 knew that alone, the female general stood a chance at winning.  

Mina and Cye were angry at Labradorite.  She had evaded all of their attacks and was delivering blasts that were more powerful.  It just seemed like she wouldn't die no matter what.  Standing side-by-side, Mina and Cye closed their eyes and concentrated their power, preparing to attack.  The two looked into each other's eyes and, for the moment, it seemed like no one else was there with them as their minds were pulled into the past…

***

Princess Mina felt like her heart was soaring as she felt the lips of her prince descend upon hers.  Prince Cye of Torrent's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling Mina closer to him as they kissed.  The summer night was warm and refreshing, especially on the veranda that the two were standing on.  

Mina felt no pangs of guilt as they kissed.  Although she was engaged to Malachite, she didn't care for him at all, even if he did care for her.  She also knew that Cye didn't care for his fiancé, the general Zoicite, but she knew that Zoicite cared for Cye.  

Mina reluctantly pulled away from the kiss and looked into Cye's blue-green eyes.  "You know," Mina whispered, "One of these days, we might get caught.  And that would be bad."  Cye chuckled and leaned in to plant a kiss at the crook of her neck.

"We won't get caught," Cye said, his voice also a whisper, "Zoicite and Malachite don't have the slightest clue as to what's going on.

"Oh we don't, do we?" a female voice piped up.  Mina and Cye jumped apart, shocked and horrified to see Zoicite and Malachite standing in the entrance to the veranda.  

"Zoicite, it's not what you think…" Cye said, his words rushed, but he was cut off by his enraged fiancé.  

"How dare you give me excuses?" Zoicite said, her voice shrill, "I loved you and I thought you loved me.  But it seems that you rather be with this little wench than with me."  Zoicite stepped up to Cye and looked him straight in the eye, her gaze boring into his eyes.

"Our engagement is off," she whispered harshly before slapping him in the face and walking away, leaving only Malachite standing there, facing the couple.

"Malachite, I…" Mina said.

"Don't bother," Malachite said, his voice stone cold with anger, "I don't want to hear your reasons.  For all purposes, legal and personal, our marriage is off.  Good bye Mina."  Malachite, too, left the scene, leaving Mina and Cye alone.  

Tears welled up in Mina's eyes as she violently kicked the veranda's railing, not noticing the sharp pain in her foot as she did so.  Cye walked over to her and took her into his arms, trying to calm her down.  "Shh, don't worry," he said, "Everything will work itself out, I know it," Cye said, his words used solely for comfort; he wasn't sure how much he believed them himself.

"No, it's not that," Mina said, her voice constricted by tears, "It's the fact that I have to face my parents.  They're going to be furious when they find out that it's my fault that Malachite broke off our engagement.  And the thing about it is that I don't care."  A tear trickled down Mina's face as she tilted her head up to look at Cye.  

"All I care about is being with you.  I love you and that's the only thing that matters to me right now."  Cye smiled, sharing the same sentiment.

"I feel the same way.  I could care less that Zoicite broke off our engagement.  In fact, I'm relieved that she did.  Now I can be with you without worrying about her catching me.  I have you; that's enough for me.  I love you Mina."  Mina smiled up at him.

"Kiss me?" she said, more as a question than a statement.

"Always," Cye said as he leaned in to kiss his true love.

***  
Once the memory faded and real life came back into focus, Mina put her bow away and laid her hands on Cye's, which were holding his Yari straight out, pointing it at Labradorite.  As her hands touched his, her power flowed into him, which in turn flowed into the Yari, which began to glow a shade of electrifying pale blue.  Together, Mina and Cye pushed the power out of the Yari and towards Labradorite, both of them yelling, "HEAVENLY AQUA SERPENT!"  The power shaped itself into a serpent, heading straight for Labradorite and wrapping around her, as if trying to squeeze the life out of her.  

Labradorite screamed, but didn't die; she was just in extreme pain.  Mina and Cye's eyes flickered towards the group of four who were standing by, waiting to help.  The 4 other warriors saw the needy look in Mina and Cye's eyes and rushed to help, following Mina and Cye's example.  

"MOONLIGHT SPIRIT ATTACK!" Darien and Serena cried out at the same time, using the Silver Crystal to magnify their combined powers, sending a stream of light and dark energy towards Labradorite.  The energy combined with Mina and Cye's attack, delivering Labradorite more pain, but not actually killing her.  

Mia and Ryo decided that it was their turn to help out.  "WILDFIRE SOUL BLAZE!" the couple yelled together, crossing their swords in front of them in the shape of an X, sending a massive amount of power in the form of white fire towards Labradorite.  

Labradorite, not able to withstand the massive amount of energy that was bombarding her, surrendered to it, wanting the release so badly.  "I'm coming for you Cairngorm.  Wait for me," she whispered before disappearing.  The energy from the attacks disappeared, leaving the 6 warriors alone in the park on a Sunday morning.  "Finally, the generals are gone," Serena said.

"Is that the last of the generals?" Cye asked, worried that there would be more.

"Yes, she was the last of the generals if I counted correctly," Darien said, "I don't remember there being anymore than 8 total, but when you add Talpa, that makes 9 and we've killed 9 over the course of three years."

"Good," Cye said, "I'd hate to face another general.  I just want to face Metallia and get it over with."  Mina fixed a skeptical look on Cye.

"Be careful what you wish for," Mina said, "You just might get it."  Cye only threw Mina back the same look before detransforming to his sub-armor.  "Come on, you guys," Cye said, "Let's go home.  I'm hungry and Mina and I forgot to eat before setting out this morning."  The others detransformed as well and Mia spoke up.

"Yeah, that's a good question: why were you two out so early this morning.  I mean, now, it's probably only 8:00 and you two were here for the beginning of the battle, so you had to be up early," Mia said.

"Well," Mina said, "We got up early this morning and went for a walk because it was so beautiful and nice outside that we felt it shouldn't be wasted.  We just happened along at the same time that the general attacked the park, that's all."

"Oh," Mia said simply.  The group of six rushed home, envisioning food for they were all hungry after battling.  They ran home in record time, all of them eager to get their hands on food, and were greeted by a loud shout.  "So there you guys are," Raye shouted, coming out of the dining room where everyone else was, "We were wondering where you guys were."

"Oh," Serena said, "We were out battling the last general."  The group of six, plus Raye, walked into the dining room.

"What did you say?" Kento said, taking a bite of toast.

"I said we were battling the last general," Serena repeated.

"Did you win?" Sage asked hopefully.  Serena shot Sage a look.

"Am I standing here in front of you now?" Serena asked back.

"I'll take that as a yes," Sage said.

"Yeah, and good riddance that she's gone," Cye said, "She was such a B-I-T-C-H," Cye spelled out.  Ami looked at Cye seriously.

"Cye, I think we're a little old to be spelling things out," she said.

"Yeah," Mina said, "Any idiot knows that that spells."  Rowen chose that moment to speak up.

"A 'bitca'?" he asked, groggily.  At the other end of the table, Julie and Margot burst out laughing while everyone just stared at Rowen.  Ami looked at him in surprise and shock.

"You did not just say that," Ami said hurriedly, not believing it.

"No really, what's a bitca?" Rowen asked.  Ami only sighed and dropped her head into her hands.

"No, you really did say that.  Great.  My super genius boyfriend's an idiot."

"What?" Rowen asked, "What'd I say?"  Kento, who was sitting on the other site of Rowen, spoke to him.

"Rowen, Cye said B-I-T-C-H.  Not B-I-T-C-A.  It's H, not A.  Bitch," Kento said slowly, enunciating every sound.

"Oh, I get it," Rowen said, "Sorry, I'm a little slow and hard of hearing in the morning."

"So I noticed," Ami said under her breath.  Rowen looked over at her and smiled.

"Oh lighten up," he said, leaning over and giving her a kiss.   Rowen's stupidity was immediately forgotten by Ami as he kissed her briefly.

"So," Alex said, "We're down to just Metallia."

"Yeah," Serena said, detransforming into her pajamas, "All we can do now is wait for Metallia's attack.  We have no way of attacking her first, so, unfortunately, it's up to her to take the initiative."  Serena paused for a moment and the moment she did, the sound of her stomach grumbling filled the air.  Margot giggled.

"A little hungry there, Serena," Margot said light-heartedly.

"Yeah," Serena said, "Hey Lita, is there any food left?"

"Is there any food left?" Lita repeated, shocked at the question, "Of course, there's always food left.  Just sit down and help yourself."  Serena and the other 5 warriors detransformed, all of them joining the ranks of their fellow comrades and settling in for a nice Sunday breakfast.  

********

Hi!  I know, I know, I haven't updated in forever . . . sorry!  I was skiing for a while and then I finally got home (our condo has neither phone nor internet) and I had to clean house because we had relatives invading for the weekend from England . . . but now I'm back and I hope to finish this book up before I leave for school again next week.  So review and its more likely the last chapter and epilogue will appear quickly.  Another chapter, the last couple (happiness!)  The Bitca conversation, you might recognize – points to those who figure out what from!  : )  ~Des


	17. The World's Last Hope

Part 16: The World's Last Hope

-June 2nd, 2000-

It was a calm peaceful day practically everywhere.  People were continuing on with their happy, meaningless, little lives.  It's all too bright down there.  There's too much joy, Metallia thought, a disgusted grimace on her face.  The grimace faded, however, making the way for the sweet smile that crossed her face.  Well, soon enough, there won't be any more little, sunny earth.  It'll be covered in darkness, just as it was meant to be, Metallia thought with a soft sigh.  

Metallia hovered over the earth, smiling from her interdimensional portal as she watched life on earth continue peacefully.  She rolled the palm-sized stone across her hands and smiled at the hypnotic, rolling color shifting just below the surface as the pent-up energy in the stone begged for release.  It had taken her near a millennium to harness the power of such a tiny stone, but finally she had it.  And it was time for her big finale to the battle that had started over a millennium and two decades ago.  She laughed in anticipation and satisfaction.  Those stupid warriors would never know what hit them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Metallia spotted movement.  Slowly, she turned to see five girls enter the room, each carrying a weapon in their arms as they floated a few inches off the floor, their wings creating the soft fluttering sound that filled the room.  Each of them bowed deeply in respect for their most honored queen.  "We are ready, your majesty," the leader announced, "Those Universal Warriors are going to regret ever tangling with you.  On your command?"  Metallia gave a simple nod at the pink colored girl.  The pink colored girl gave a slight grin that belied her evil intentions.  "Come on girls," the leader said, "We've got battles to fight and warriors to kill."  And the plan was flung into action.

***

Down on earth, everyone was sitting in Celia's living room discussing the plan of attack.  They all knew that now that the generals were dead, the end battle was soon to come, but when, they didn't know.  They had to be prepared with a plan and they had to be prepared quickly.  But the plan of how to even approach Metallia was going nowhere, stuck between all the fighting over the details and ideas.

Kento played with Lita's hair where she lay against his shoulder.  He signed in resignation and impatience.  "Look," he growled, "I don't see why you think the two super armors and the crystal can't fight this.  Between them, I think we can blow Metallia out of the water for good."

Serena sat up a little straighter, fixing on Kento her most serious glare.  "No way," Serena said with authority, "Metallia is holding out on us and besides, she's a lot stronger than we think she is.  She's got something, a power supply or something that she must be using to boost her own power.  If we go up against her like that, without knowing what it is she's got, we'll be thrown out of the water, not her.  This is something big and I don't want anyone getting hurt if we can avoid it."

Ami spoke up as she attempted to untangle herself from the web created by Rowen's arms around her waist.  "I have yet to figure out precisely what Metallia is using against us.  It defies all my identifying attempts.  I just don't know what it is, but I know that it can hold an awesome amount of energy.  The only thing is that I am skeptical that Metallia can harness all that energy.  From what I can see, she can't use all the power that the stone contains.  If she puts enough power into the stone to get out the massive amounts of power that it contains, it will consume her."  Ami's voice was filled with incredulousness and fear over what Metallia could possibly be using as her backup power supply.

Serena nodded, somewhat relieved that they finally had an edge over Metallia.  "We'll have to assume that she doesn't know this, however, and fight as if she has the massive amounts of energy at her disposal."

Heather was playing with the curtains over by one of the large windows when she spoke up.  "Guys, I think our planning and plotting, what little of it has been done, is about to be needed," Heather said shakily.  With one swift pull of the curtain cord, the curtains swept open majestically, giving the Universal Warriors a glimpse of the impending hell that was brewing.  

Outside, dark, ominous clouds rippling with black lightning and a dim reddish color were expanding over Tokyo at an alarming and unnatural rate.  Serena gulped.  "You guys," Serena said, her voice quivering slightly with fear, "I think it's time to face Metallia once and for all."  The rest only prayed.

***

Downtown, Metallia had opened a portal directly into the park and was slowly taking the city over, her energy expanding from the portal to grab at the fleeing people and the large buildings on the park's outskirts.  By the time the Universal Warriors had arrived, the entire park had been taken over with the darkened black color that pulsed lazily and slowly fought its way into the middle of town.  

High above the five story opening to the portal, Metallia floated through the air, rolling her stone in her hands and watching gleefully as the energy ate up everything around it until darkness spread.  "Yes!" she cried out, "Finally this miserable little planet will be mine to do with what I wish!"

The eighteen Universal Warriors stopped and stared at the chaos that was ensuing downtown, a sense of hopelessness running through them.  A car had rammed into a fire hydrant just at the edge of the park and water sprayed into the air in an arch that formed a gate to the ruined and darkened park.  Around the entrance stood five girls, each holding a large weapon lowered to the ground.  They were each a bright shade of color and had thin wings on their backs that allowed them to hover of the ground.  

The pink one, the leader, spotted them first.  With a sneer, she spoke.  "Well, well, if it isn't the wonderful little Universal Warriors.  Fancy meeting you here.  Allow me to introduce myself.  I am the leader of the Doom and Gloom girls."  She lifted the spear she carried higher in her grasp.  Next to her, a girl in red and then a girl in blue lifted their weapons, getting a better grasp on the evil double bladed sword and the long daggers.  The girl in yellow lifted a staff up while her companion in green grasped a wicked war axe.

Margot and Julie at the back of the group had turned white as sheets when they first saw the five waiting for them.  _God, not the Doom and Gloom Girls.__  Remember what happened in the original TV series?_ Julie asked Margot silently.

Margot nodded back slowly.   _I don't know how, but Metallia somehow knows that those five are a weak point for us.  We've gotta get rid of them.  I won't be able to concentrate until they're gone._

While the two had silently conferred, the five enemies had silently prepared themselves, tensing to attack.  They sprang into action, trying to encompass the group and swinging their weapons up to catch the also tense warriors.  Serena caught the spear blade on her staff as it descended for her head.  Her breathing labored from the exhilaration and fear of the situation, Serena struggled against the total body strength of the girl now bearing down on her.  

Finally, Serena managed to break away, dropping to roll under the flying girl's feet and up on the outside.  She brought the staff around in a two handed blow, catching the pink girl in the middle of her back as she struggled to regain her balance.  "SPIRIT SWORD ANGUISH!" Darien cried out and the Doom and Gloom leader found her way to a quick death.  With a tortured scream, she vanished, leaving nothing behind but a small pile of dust.

Raye found her self sprawled onto the ground as Sage caught the red girl's sword on his.  She could do nothing but watch as her soulmate battled against the foe.  Quickly, Sage disengaged and moved into a overhead cut, bringing both hands down in a cruel move, only to catch her blade on his an inch from her grinning face.  

Jumping back, she hissed at him and disengaged as Sage's sword plummeted to the ground, and then jumped back in to thrust her sword at Sage's side hard.  Sage danced back a step, mentally remarking that she had almost gotten him, and brought his sword up to parry her move, snaking his blade around hers to send it back at an awkward angle in her hand.  Swearing like a sailor, she dropped the blade and found herself incinerated by a blast of fire from Raye.

Ami backed away from the gleaming daggers that sliced through the air.  Without a second thought, Julie stepped in front of her, bringing her own staff up horizontal to take on the blades.  One blade went for her barely protected knuckles, but Julie whirled the staff up to catch the blade, rapping the other end against her opponent's uncovered fingers.  The girl yelped and dropped one of the daggers, retreating and glancing a longing look at it.  

Julie pushed some energy into the staff to ready an attack as she ducked under a high cut.  Bringing her arms up, she slammed the staff up into an arm, shattering the bone before driving the end into her stomach.  The blue Doom and Gloom girl clutched at her stomach and arm in pain, missing the attack that obliterated her as she screamed in pain.

The green one, more careful then her friends, brought her war axe up in a move that guaranteed to shatter Lita's protectively raised sword.  As the axe swept down towards her head, Lita stepped to the side, giving the axe a glancing blow as Kento drove the end of his weapon in to rap painfully on her shins.  As the enemy struggled to raise her heavy axe back above her head for another blow, Lita and Kento yelled out at the same time, "THUNDER ROCK STRIKE!"  The attack effectively blew the Doom and Gloom girl to smithereens.

Margot stepped forward to engage the last girl as she swept her staff at Mina.  The heavy metal staff slammed into the sword, wrenching it from violently from Margot's fingers as the armored warrior's nerves screamed in pain and her fingers loosened automatically, the sword dropping to the ground with a clink.  Only a quick move saved Margot's head from the staff's evil sweep as it raced by.  Ducking and dodging, Margot came up on the inside of a sweep, grabbing the staff with her hands and struggling to twist it out of the other girl's hands.  

So busy in the power struggle for the weapon, neither noticed as Cye powered up for an attack.  "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"  Margot looked over at Cye just in time to see the attack hurling for her and her opponent.  She quickly jumped out of the way, leaving the staff-wielding enemy to face the attack.  She dissolved under the powerful water attack.

Panting, Margot dropped the heavy staff and retrieved her fallen sword.  Nearby, she watched as Rowen helped Ami to her feet.  Serena leaned against her staff a little, while Sage wiped the sweat from his forehead.  The rest stood on guard, watching the growing portal with unease.  Celia smiled.  

"That was rather easy," Celia said coolly.  Julie and Margot glanced at each other, their mouths agape.

"Easy?  She calls that battle easy?"  Margot's voice rose, harsh with worry and strain.  Julie looked at Celia incredulously.  

"You know what those five did in the original TV series?" Julie asked, her voice strained with panic.  Celia smiled calmly, totally disregarding the two twins' complaints.  

"But that didn't happen, did it?  It was easy," Celia said with an almost sugary voice.  The two girls rolled their eyes.

An enraged voice drew attention to on high.  "How dare you foil my greeting plan!"  Suddenly, the voice giggled and the tone of voice changed to one of complacency.  "But I guess that's okay anyhow because I wanted to deal with you.  Welcome to my dimension.  I hope you won't stay long.  I have a pressing appointment to destroy the world."  Above the group could see Metallia floating calmly through the air, her hands moving complexly, something golden and shiny rolling over and around her fingers.  She grabbed the stone in one hand and inspected the nails of the other nonchalantly.

Serena tensed at Metallia's flippant attitude.  "Metallia, how nice to see you today. I was beginning to wonder when we would be having our final face-off.  After all, we haven't seen anything of your ugly face in quite a while."

Metallia smiled back, poisonously sweet, trying her hardest to not lash out at the insult.  "Why, Princess Serena, did you doubt that I would come for this final battle?  After all, I have a commitment here.  And I never abandon my commitments.  When I say I'm going to take over the universe, by God I'm going to take over the universe.  But we cannot fight in the open here.  So please, won't you join me in my dimension?" Metallia's venomous voiced offer caused the warriors to tense for an attack, but Metallia simply floated backwards into the portal.

Everyone looked at Serena and Ryo where they stood near the entrance to the portal; the eyes that were focused on them were searching for guidance and direction.  Alex spoke up, her speech clipped.  "What do we do now?  Do we follow her in there?"

Serena set her face determinedly, not liking the options presented to her for there weren't any.  "We have no other choice.  The amount of power this battle will use would shatter Tokyo.  We have to trust in each other and hope that Metallia has no more major surprises waiting for us.  The other dimension is the only safe place for this encounter."  The group of eighteen warriors stared at the growing portal with dismay, knowing that they had to go in there.  Slowly and reluctantly, they stepped forward, entering the other dimension.

Inside, Metallia lounged on her throne, smiling at the group as they cautiously entered.  "So, you accepted my challenge," Metallia said with a smile, showing off her pearly white teeth, "I knew one of these days that you would be here.  Too bad this won't last too long."  Suddenly the room-like dimension was filled with power, evil energy streaming from Metallia's hand in wind-like waves that raced for the warriors in a mad fury.

Heather threw herself forward, the glaive in her hand raised protectively across her body, ready to protect her comrades from any attack that Metallia threw at them.  "SILENCE WALL!"  Heather poured energy into the invisible protective barrier, holding the defense longer than she normally could, knowing and feeling her power reserves being drained away.  

Michelle screamed as she watched the small girl pour all of her energy reserves into the defense.  "Heather, don't!  You could kill yourself!  Let it go!"  As Michelle ran forward to stop the girl, the weakening barrier gave in with a boom, throwing the energy away for a few moments.  

Heather collapsed, drained of energy and Michelle frantically reached for her, grabbing her before her head hit the floor.  Carefully, she began to drag the small girl back as she warily watched the rising levels of energy that threatened to attack her.  It gained on her, menacingly shifting and straining against the residual of Heather's attack.

Michelle had nearly reached the front lines of the Universal warriors when the energy blew forward with a vengeance.  Not paying attention, Michelle was alerted to the danger when Alex yelled at her.  "Michelle!  Look out behind you!"  She looked up in time to catch a powerful bolt in the temple.  She fell hard, covering Heather's body with her own in a seemingly protective gesture.

Near the back, Celia had been trying to stop the slowly growing portal from expanding any further.  "Come on," she whispered through gritted teeth, her power focus at its peak, "It has to work."  Celia poured more and more power into her task and suddenly, when her power was at its high, there was a boom of sound as green lightning rushed to keep the portal open and at the same time keep it from closing.  

The group watched as the portal fought against the power, now straining to continue its job, but it was firmly stuck; Celia's power had stopped the portal from growing, thus stopping Metallia from eventually sucking in the whole earth.  Metallia shrieked in outrage as the portal she spent so long trying to create was stopped and the winds of energy that emanated from her picked up with a vengeance.

The Universal Warriors attacked as one, throwing their attacks at the evil queen, who was encased by a sphere of power, unable to be touched by the Universal Warriors' attacks.  But the Universal Warriors' attacks weren't used for offence; they were used for defense.  Amidst the flying fury of the power, attacks of magic flew, keeping the power at bay.  

Margot and Julie worked as best they could to bring power up in a defensive barrier around the group, preventing the winds from hitting their targets.  The two knelt in the middle, their hands clenched together, breathing deeply.  Each wave that pounded the invisible barrier caused them to clench their teeth in pain, but the barrier still held.  An occasional wave of energy broke through to lash the group as they fought, causing their concentrations to break and their energy levels to drop again.  

Lita closed her eyes and powered up for an attack, not noticing one of Metallia's waves slash through the barrier with Lita as its target.  Kento watched with horror as the wave approached the unsuspecting Lita.  In a valiant display of love, Kento threw his body in front of her, taking her down to the floor and taking her place as the wave's target.  The energy slammed through him, making him grit his teeth in pain.  Unable to stand up against the force of the power, he fell unconscious under the evil attack.  

Lita watched Kento battle with the energy in his body and fall to it.  With an outraged shriek, she dove through the protective barrier and attacked everything around her in pain-filled anger. With a pained yell, she threw herself forward at Metallia, attacking her with all of her might.  "LIGHTNING SWORD STRIKE!"  The lightning attack pierced the power flow, heading straight for Metallia, but was deflected easily on an invisible shield that rose when Metallia lifted her hand.  

Metallia flicked her fingers and the deflected energy regrouped and shot back towards Lita with surprising speed.  The tired girl could only stare as the power slammed her back across the floor and up against Kento.  Turning to face the unconscious warrior at her side, Lita whispered, "I'm sorry Kento; I tried."  Lita's eyes slipped shut and she, too, fell unconscious.

Mia watched in horror.  The two now unconscious warriors were pulled back and away from the battle area to join Michelle and Heather, who were also out.  Attacks blasted the shield, which was weakening quickly under the relentless energy.  Margot and Julie were covered in sweat, but stayed concentrating on the barrier as best they could.  Without a thought, Mia threw herself forward and battled her way through the energy.  

She immediately realized her foolish and irrational behavior as the energy slashed at her arms and body, attacking her with renewed vigor.  Mia bit her lip to keep from screaming out in pain.  She was going to be strong; she wasn't going to give Metallia the satisfaction of seeing her suffer.  The pain grew and Mia hardly noticed the attack that threw her back and into unconsciousness.

Ryo, fighting hard against Metallia, hardly noticed as Mia went down, although he saw her being pulled to safety and part of him was relieved that she had been pulled out of the fray.  Beside him, Celia began to glow with her power and Ryo knew at once that she was going to try to get Metallia with one simple blow.  He saw her slowly move towards the barrier with a determined look on her face.  "No, you fool!" Ryo yelled at Celia, "Don't do it!  You'll only get yourself hurt!"  

As he yelled at the older woman to stop, Celia grounded herself.  Closing her eyes, Celia held her staff out in front of her, pouring all of her power into the red jewel at the top.  Lifting the staff above her head, she cried out, "OLYMPIAD SOLSTICE STRIKE!"  The power exploded from the garnet time stone that topped her staff and the blinding light hurled straight for Metallia.  The attack cut through the energy battering the shield and slammed into another shield at Metallia's hand.  

Celia's powerful attack was formed into a ball and shot back, hitting Celia.  She gave out a tortured scream and collapsed to the ground in pain, her fingers loosening on her hold of her weapon and her staff slipping out of her hands.

Ami frantically typed away at her computer, trying to analyze Metallia's power source that gave her so much energy during the unceasing battle in order to give her teammates a clue as to what to do, maybe even to give them a possible weakness or flaw in Metallia's attacks.  She typed furiously, trying to duck around the protective spell that encased the stone.  

So wrapped up in her typing, Ami hardly noticed as a stray bolt of power headed straight for her where she stood behind the rest of the warriors.  Rowen, nearby, saw the bolt.  "Ami!  Watch out!"  Ami wasn't paying attention and Rowen knew that he would need to take action.   He ran with all his might and leapt in front of Ami, taking the bolt of power that was meant for Ami straight in his chest.  He stood for a moment, swaying from the added injuries he had received in the battle.  Slowly he fell to his knees and crumpled over backwards.  

Ami screamed his name and caught his head seconds before it hit the ground.  With tears running down her cheeks, she choked out, "Rowen, are you ok?"  He smiled a little at her in response, content with the knowledge that he had saved her from being hurt, and then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

Mina watched as Ami tried desperately to revive Rowen, but to no avail; Rowen stayed unconscious.  A feeling of rage and helplessness filled her.  She helplessly watched the love that she had worked so hard to help surface die as slowly, the couples and friends so close to her fell under the vicious lash of Metallia's attacks.  It wrenched inside her as if Metallia were in fact, destroying love.  

She attacked with her bow and arrows, but the swirling black energy that flew around them was destroying the arrows before they even hit their targets.  Mina, with an enraged scream, tried one more thing.  Slowly pulling out an arrow, with the feeling that it would be her last of the battle, she screamed, "BEAUTY SHOCKWAVE!"  The attack did nothing against the ever-present energy that assaulted her.  

One bolt struck her in the side and she was pushed over to one side, screaming out in pain.  One more hit her in the shin and she fell to her knees.  Mina tried to get up, but lacked the energy to do so.  Mina fell as one last energy bolt hit her in the back, coming around in a terrible slash to tumble her to the ground.

Nearby Raye and Sage had begun to power up for a combined attack, gathering their power together and getting ready to send it at Metallia.  Power liberally slashed the two, as if sensing Raye and Sage's upcoming attack, until the couple fell beneath the pain, their combined attack dissipating without ever being fired.  

Alex attacked with all the anger she could control.  With a pain filled yell, Alex screamed, "EARTH QUAKE STRIKE!"  Her attack furiously slashed away at Metallia, but in the time after her attack when Alex powered down, the evil energy took her down, leaving her gasping on the ground and then unconscious against the pain.  

Ami, at the same time that Alex fell, was attacking the weakest spot she could find.  Metallia smiled at the girl, as if praising her for discovering her weak point, and flipped a strand of energy laxly with her fingers.  The strand wrapped around Ami's throat and she caved under the attack, gasping and clawing at her throat for air before she too passed out, the snake-like strand of energy unraveling it self from Ami's neck and returning obediently to Metallia's mass of power.

Metallia gestured slightly with her hand as she watched the remaining six struggle to keep the attacks going.  A wave of power rose up from the floor and slammed into the barrier, dissolving it as if it were nothing.   Margot and Julie broke their handhold and slumped to the floor in pain, trying fervently to recover from Metallia's harsh attack.  

Darien and Cye took defensive positions just in front of the other four, as Serena and Ryo readied attacks.  Their powers sparkled dimly, but nothing happened for their powers were nearly depleted.  Another wall of power lifted from the ground and slammed down on the group.  Having nothing left to fight it with, Darien and Cye at the front fell easily under the massive amounts of power, leaving Ryo and Serena to their own defenses.  

The two threw power into the wall, forcing it to cave in, but the energy required drained them dry and they collapsed, exhausted.  Metallia laughed triumphantly, her eyes glancing over the collapsed warriors, all of them fallen except for Julie and Margot.

"Well, well, looks like the unbeatable Universal Warriors are being beaten!," Metallia said with a delicate giggle, "And that leaves the two of you.  You pitiful little things.  Why, another blast of dark power and I could kill you all right here and now.  But I won't kill you."  She paused, reflecting her words, choosing the next phrase carefully as he watched the two girls' expressions.  A gloating smile covered her face.  "I want you there to watch as I destroy this world like I tried to so many years ago.  A thousand years ago, to be precise. But you foiled my plan.  Except this time, there's no way you can foil my plans now.  I want you all to watch while I finish what I set out to do so long ago."  

Julie and Margot pushed themselves to their feet, muscles aching from the amounts of strain and power forced on them.  "No way, Metallia!  We're not letting this happen.  We're not going to let you destroy what we have fought so hard for."  Margot yelled back at Metallia.

"Yeah," said Julie, "we aren't going to let you destroy this beautiful new world that we've been given.  It isn't going to happen."  The two girls raised their weapons, ready to attack Metallia.

"Try, you little weaklings.  You won't succeed," Metallia said, her voice filled with over-confidence and arrogance.

The two girls readied their weapons, pouring energy into them for their attacks when suddenly they stopped.  Metallia watched, her brows drawn together in curiosity, as Margot dropped her blade to rest lightly on the ground, where a flame of blue-green and gold fire flickered on the floor. "FLAMES . . ."

Julie's staff raised to the sky, where burgundy and copper wind whipped around the falcon emblem, its wings ready to spread in flight. "OF FUTURE . . ."

"SPREAD!" the two girls whispered together and suddenly the small flicker of fire grew huge, fanned by the burgundy winds.  The fire raced across the floor and for one second, it looked like a falcon of fiery burgundy outlined in copper and blue green dragon outlined by gold were entangled, as if giving each other strength, as the power raced towards Metallia.  Startled by the intensity of the attack, Metallia threw up strong barriers, pulling on her power stone to help her.  

As the powerful attack dissolved against the shield, Margot and Julie slumped back in astonishment and disappointment.  Metallia's shrill laughter ringed in their ears.  "It didn't work," Julie said, lowering her staff.

"I can't do another attack, let alone a combined attack.  I haven't got enough energy."  Margot sighed, one lone tear running down her cheek, and plopped down on the ground.  "We're doomed.  I'm sorry."  Julie was about to reply when Metallia's cackling laugh cut in.  

"This is the end of you two.  I've had enough!"  A ball of sparkling black power sprang to her hands.  The two braced for the blow when something odd happened.  Slowly, a small thread of black power detaching from the ball she held and sucked back inside the power stone.  Slowly, the thread unraveled the ball she held, growing bigger and bigger, sucking in all the power around her.  

Metallia noticed what was happening and was frantically pouring all of her power into fixing what had happened.  "No!  Stop!  You can't do this!  I have complete control over this power.  Nothing can stop me from taking over the universe!"  Metallia continued to try to rectify her mistake, but her power was just sucked away.  

Finally, having run out of power, it sucked up Metallia.  Metallia gave one deafening shriek as she was sucked in before the black hole closed up entirely.  The entire dimension disappeared, dumping everyone into the park again.  Finally, the only energy left was consumed by the small stone, which, now having nothing to hold it in the air, fell to the ground in front to the two girls with a soft tinkle.

The two girls stared, not knowing whether to cry in relief or burst out laughing at the outcome of the battle.  "Well that was anticlimactic!" Julie said as she slowly stood up.

"Yeah.  That was one of the cleanest battles I've seen," Margot said as she walked slowly over to pick up the stone.  Cradling it in her hands, she stared at the stone that was about the size of her hand in a shallow round ellipse.  "That was short."

"Did you want a big boom?"  Julie asked, her eyebrows lifted in incredulity.

"No, it was just really small, that's all.  Not quite what I expected."  Suddenly, a tremor ran through the stone Margot held.  The tremor ran through Margot's body, like it was familiarizing itself with her.  The tremor caused Margot's heart to start beating faster and her breathing to become labored.  With a little shriek, she dropped it.  Julie stared at her twin, a look on confusion and worry on her face.  "What was that about?" she asked shortly

"That . . . That thing is the sunstone."  At Julie's blank look, Margot sighed in exasperation.  "The sunstone, Daddy's power stone that happens to be the most powerful stone that exists."  Margot waited for Julie's memory to kick in.  Once Julie's face lit up with remembrance, Margot looked back on the stone, wondering why it had been in Metallia's possession.  "How on earth did Metallia get that?" Margot asked with a hushed tone of voice.

Julie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, trying to fend off the approaching headache.  "I don't want to know.  I'm just glad it's safe and now I want to go home and have a nap."  Julie turned around and started walking home, the thoughts of aspirin and her bed dancing around in her thoughts.  Almost immediately she hear Margot's voice drift over her shoulder.

"Oh, Julie!" Margot called out with a sing-song voice, "We have one more little problem to take care of before your naptime!"  Julie turned around, staring at Margot flatly. 

"What?" she forced out.  Margot pointed at the unconscious warriors.  

"How to get them home," Margot said.  Julie sighed and groaned.  

"Damn it," Julie said, ready to break down into tears of exhaustion, "How are we supposed to do that?"  Margot sighed, surveying the group, all in full armor and shook her head at the impossibility of the task.  

"Beats me.  But we'd better get started," Margot stated.  Julie groaned.  

"Couldn't we just leave them here or dump some water on them or something?  I mean, they'd wake up eventually and then they'd come home," Julie said, hoping that Margot would buy in to her alternatives.  

"Quit complaining there and give me a hand.  We'd better figure something out soon."  Margot moved to begin transporting the warriors home.  Julie sighed and moved to help Margot, her whole being emanating the fact that all she wanted to do was sleep. 

"Why did we have to be the only ones awake?"  Margot smiled wryly at Julie.  

"Beats me.  Life is not fair.  Now quit complaining and start working!"  Julie grumbled.  

"Slave driver," she said under her breath.

"What was that?" Margot asked, knowing perfectly well what Julie had said, "Did you say something Julie?"  Julie shook her head.  

"No, I didn't," Julie mumbled. 

"Good, now move faster."  There was no more grumbling on Julie's part as she started to help Margot move the unconscious warriors.

"They so owe us," Julie said.  Margot nodded at Julie.  

"Agreed."  Together, they began working on transporting the fallen warriors home.  They had only just begun when Julie realized something.

"Aw shit!" she swore violently.  Margot looked over at her twin.

"What?" Margot asked.

"Greg, Andrew, Molly, and Ken are still in the Negaverse," Julie said.  Margot paled slightly at Julie's words.

"That means that we have to go into the Negaverse and get them," Margot grumbled.

"Now they really owe us," Julie said.  Margot only sighed.

"We better get a good reward for doing this," Margot said.  Julie smiled.

"Oh yes, we better."

********

Ok, so Metallia's been beaten, which leaves only one thing left – the epilogue. . . Wow, I can't believe this story's all finished.  Hopefully, by the time we get finish updating book 4, book 5 will be completely written, so we can take a breather and work on the plot and ideas for book six.  Please review and the epilogue will hopefully be up by week's end.  ~Des


	18. Epilogue: The Return Home

Epilogue:  The Return Home

-June 24th, 2000-

Celia smiled as she watched the two girls that had become part of the family check their bags.  The two were again dressed in their old uniforms, plaid skirts ironed and white blouses buttoned up under their sweaters.  In the hallway, everyone stood around nervously, unsure of how to proceed with the farewell.  

The Ronin and Mystical Warriors were definitely going to miss the Oracle twins.  Already, there were some unhappy faces among the crowd.  Ryo and Serena watched their cousins with regret as the two girls finished packing their backpacks with all of the things they had brought from their world.

Serena stepped forward a little.  "Are you two certain you can't stay?  There will always be a place for part of our family here."  The rest of the group nodded, not wanting them to go, no matter how much they all wanted them to leave at times.

Margot smiled.  "I wish we could stay, but we have to go back.  We miss our families and friends there too.  Although it is nice to know we will always have a place here, we have a place there too.  We have to go back."

Julie grinned, teasing the group.  "Besides, we better give you some time to be on your own.  If we don't give you a little breather, you people might get sick of us.  Now that would be bad.  Besides, we only come in doses, albeit large ones."

Serena nodded, expressing the sentiment of understanding that everyone was feeling.  "We're going to miss you two.  The house won't be the same without you two creating havoc and making noise and playing your music at six o'clock in the morning.  It might even be quiet around here for a change."  Serena smiled as she realized something.  Teasingly, she said, "Well, now that I mention it, maybe not having you around will be nice."  Serena spotted the two falling faces and rushed to say, "Just kidding."  The twins smiled with tears in their eyes and ran to hug Serena.  

"Don't worry," Margot said, "we'll be back before you know it.  We can't stay away for too long."

Julie grinned.  "Besides, there's only so long I can last in this stupid school uniform.  I'll be back.  Don't you worry."

For odd reasons, at a large gathering, when one or more people hug, it turns into a big hugfest.  That was precisely what occurred. Everyone joked and laughed and cried and hugged the two departing girls.  Margot and Julie had just extracted themselves when they realized that they had forgotten something. Reaching into their backpacks, they pulled out six little gift-wrapped items, smiling as they did.  Each one went to one of the guys.  Ryo looked puzzled at the package in front of him.  

"What are these for?"  The two smiled.  

"Open them and you'll see," the twins said.  The six unwrapped their gifts to find small communicator watches in various colors lying on their hands.  Each was emblazoned with each warrior's symbol.  Ryo's was red, Rowen's blue and Darien's was black, but the rest stared at theirs in puzzlement.

"This isn't my color," Sage said, crinkling his nose in confusion as he looked at his red communicator.  Kento likewise studied the green one he had been given, turning it every which way, while Cye admired the orange of his.

"Oh, we know," Margot said, "because they aren't in your colors.  They're in the girls' colors."

"After all," Julie said, "you guys should match your girlfriends."  The rest of the group laughed and Kento playfully shook his fist at the two.  Finally, they pulled a pearly white one out and handed it to Mia also.  She smiled and thanked them.

Celia smiled at the two girls as she stepped in front of the rest of the group.  "Are you really ready to go back now?"  The two looked at each other and nodded.  Without a warning, Celia transformed, her deep olive green armor appearing in an instant. 

"Okay.  I'm sending you right back to when you left, or as close as I can.  You two have the power to come back whenever you want and I'll be watching you, so please try to stay out of trouble!"  Celia smiled and blinked back a tear.  "I'm going to miss you two little trouble makers.  There won't be anyone here to keep me on my toes."  Margot sniffed, blinking to keep the tears from falling.  

"Enough.  I'm going to start crying and then we'll all start bawling and that will be the end of the nice neat goodbye," Margot said, her voice quivering with tears.

                Julie gave a watery grin.  "Yeah.  We gotta get going guys.  We'll be back.  Don't worry!"  Celia lifted her staff and a minute later there was an unsettling feeling as the world filled with white light and the two girls found themselves flying through time and dimensions.

Back in the school building, Margot and Julie blinked and rubbed their eyes, dropping their stuff to the ground in amazement, not really believing that they had returned.  Yes, they realized, they really were back in the high school academic hall next to the bathroom and the mail boxes.  

They were still staring in shock when Kateri emerged from the bathroom.

"Good, you guys waited for me.  Are we all set to go?"  Kateri smiled her sunny little smile and picked up her bags from where the two had dropped them months – or was it minutes? – before.  She frowned suddenly, noticing something off about the two.  

"Are you guys ok?" Kateri asked.  The two nodded.  Then, Kateri noticed something else.  "Margot, when did you put your hair up like that and why is it longer than it was a few minutes ago?"  The two shook their heads, clearing their minds of the past nine months.  

"Never mind Kateri.  It's too long of a story and my mom is waiting," Margot said.  Kateri just smiled in puzzlement and the three walked down the hall.  Suddenly Julie stopped as she realized something.  

"Oh no!  This means I have to repeat all of my junior year again here!  Not fair!  I have to do all the homework over!" Julie wailed as Margot giggled at her and Kateri stared.

* * *

Gahhh, I am so sorry everyone.  I really did mean to update faster, but life got in the way.  So, the end of book three draws to a close.  Next book should be interesting – new warriors and allies, a new enemy who will prove one of the most difficult, and some new steps in the relationships between couples and between all the Universal Warriors as they find their friendships and ties stretched to the limit.  Look for Book 4: The Test of Love and Friendship to be up sometime next week!  Please review!  : )  ~Des                                      


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